The civil rape trial involving Metro Boomin had an emotional start on Tuesday, September 24, in Los Angeles. In the courtroom, just months after "unsuccessful" settlement discussions, the producer was flanked by a small circle, including his bodyguard and lawyers. Minutes later, his rape accuser, Vanessa LeMaistre, entered with her legal team. The day saw LeMaistre begin her testimony, which included her saying that she made the decision to sue Metro after using Ayahuasca years after the alleged incident took place.
What is Metro Boomin accused of?
As Complex previously reported, Metro, born Leland Wayne, is accused of rape and sexual battery over an alleged 2016 encounter with LeMaistre, where the accuser claims that she awoke to the producer raping her. LeMaistre alleges that while confiding in Metro about the death of her nine-month-old son earlier that evening, the artist gave her half a Xanax and a shot of alcohol to cope. LeMaistre alleged Metro then assaulted her, leading to a pregnancy and subsequent abortion. She also is claiming that it was Metro's child and alleges that a verse from his "Rap Saved Me" collaboration with 21 Savage and Offset mocked her ordeal. Metro has denied the allegations.
How does ayahuasca play into the trial?
While discussing her use of ayahuasca in 2024, LeMaistre explained that the drug revealed to her that the alleged rape was the "root of continual trauma, pain and suffering." A plan to expose Metro was written the day after the ayahuasca ceremony where she vowed to "blow the whistle on Metro Boomin," "contact Cassie [Ventura’s] lawyer" and tag Metro and 21 Savage, in a social media exposé.
Tension in the courtroom heightened when it was disclosed that LeMaistre referred to herself as a "spirit medium" in the letter, and that she channelled the producer's late mother, Leslie Wayne, who was murdered in 2022, alleging that she was "disappointed" in her son. Metro made a cuckoo sign to his team about LeMaistre, which was immediately called out by her attorney, Michael J. Willemin.
What happened on day one of the trial?
Prior to the jury's entrance on Tuesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge R. Gary Klausner noted the respective legal teams showing "hostility towards each side." Around 10 a.m., potential jurors were sworn in and Judge Klausner notified the room that the trial would likely end by Friday, September 26.
During opening statements in the afternoon, each side firmly represented their clients, starting with LeMaistre's attorney Willemin, who explained that while Metro is a popular music act, he isn't beyond reproach.
"He knew that she was unable of consenting," Willemin said after describing that the plaintiff had taken Xanax five to six times following her son's death earlier that year.
As the remarks were given, a tearful LeMaistre was handed a box of tissues at the counsel table.
How much is the accuser suing Metro Booming for?
Elsewhere, it was revealed that the plaintiff sought $3.4 to $3.7 million and intentionally sought out the firm that represented Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura in her 2023 sexual assault lawsuit against Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
On behalf of the defendant, attorney Lawrence C. Hinkle II alleged that LeMaistre was "flat broke" and "mad" that Metro "stopped giving her attention." Hinkle added that the plaintiff was "a woman scorned" and "capable of seeking revenge" as communication between them withered. As argued in court documents, LeMaistre had taken psychedelic brew ayahuasca, which Hinkle alleged drove her to concoct a "drug-induced plan" to extort Metro.
What is Metro Boomin’s legal team saying?
It was also shared that Metro plans to testify and has "nothing to hide," along with the corroboration of several psychologist experts and witnesses. The plaintiff has not selected any witnesses to testify. Hinkle also called LeMaistre "fully conscious" and a "willing participant" during the alleged encounter.
"It wasn't about sexual assault, it was about her wanting a relationship with him," Hinkle argued.
The lawyer went on to allege that by 2024, LeMaistre was financially in dire straits and repeatedly inquired with Planned Parenthood about her timing of conception. It was in November 2016 that LeMaistre had an abortion after allegedly being impregnated by the producer. By April 2025, the plaintiff called police to report that she been raped.
"She tried to cover up the evidence, ladies and gentlemen, and we found out about it," Hinkle said. "Her story about Mr. Wayne changed over time, not because of trauma, but desperation."
The trial proceeded with LeMaistre giving her testimony, and that she wasn't in the "mindset" to date after a rough experience with the father of her child. Elsewhere, the plaintiff claimed that she had previously dated Lil Wayne for ten months, Metro's counsel objected when Willemin asked whether she tried to sue the five-time Grammy winner.
LeMaistre, who met Metro in summer of 2016 in Las Vegas, repeatedly denied showing romantic attraction towards the producer although they allegedly shared a "subtle cuddle" once when she was in a recording studio with him. The plaintiff couldn't recall the exact date of the alleged rape, but compared her blackout from the Xanax and "a few sips" of alcohol to an "anesthesia," calling the effects "harsh."
LeMaistre recalled feeling "dizzy" the following day and scoured the hotel room's trashcan for a condom. Upon leaving the hotel in an SUV that an employee of Metro drove, LeMaistre said she was in a "state of confusion" but returned home in her vehicle, which was parked at the recording studio. The plaintiff called the alleged rape "trauma compounded on trauma" and shared that while answering questions at the clinic about a possible rape, she didn't know what "coercion" meant.
"I truly thought that rape was what you see on TV, stranger danger, somebody comes up and abducts you," she explained.
LeMaistre sought her medical records to find clarity on the date of the alleged rape. The defense argues that she attempted to alter her medical information. The plaintiff's journal entries in regards to Metro were also shown the jury, along with various texts messages sent to the producer between 2017 and 2018. In one, LeMaistre wrote, "Meet me in DC" and in another, "I miss u," although she claimed the messages were to "make things seem better."
By the end of LeMaistre's testimony, she said that the alleged rape "completely shattered" her self-esteem, and that it had been "hard" for her to find stability in her employment and personal life.
Trial proceedings continue at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday.