Axl Rose Settles Sexual Assault Lawsuit as Guns N' Roses Rocker Continues to 'Deny the Allegations'

Mar. 15, 2025

Axl Rose.Photo:Courtesy of Axl Rose

Courtesy of Axl Rose

Upon settling the suit, Rose’s attorney, E. Danya Perry, told PEOPLE, “Mr. Rose has suffered greatly from this lawsuit, and I am pleased that he will now be able to move on with his life.”

In a separate statement, Rose said, “As I have from the beginning, I deny the allegations. There was no assault.”

Once inside Rose’s room, the former model alleged he eventually tied her hands behind her back before “forcibly penetrating” Kennedy without asking for consent. “He treated her like property used solely for his sexual pleasure,” the complaint claimed.

The complaint added, “Kennedy did not consent and felt overpowered. She felt she had no escape or exit and was compelled to acquiesce. She believed Rose would physically attack her, or worse, if she said no or attempted to push him away. She understood that the safest thing to do was to lie in bed and wait for Rose to finish assaulting her.”

Sheila Kennedy on April 11, 2013.Vincent Sandoval/WireImage

Vincent Sandoval/WireImage

In her 2016 memoir, Kennedy claimed she was “crying and bleeding” as the musician allegedly assaulted her. “Weirdly enough, I was okay with this. I had wanted to be with him the minute I’d first laid eyes on him, and now I was getting him. Once he was done he untied me and we f—ed around some more,” she wrote.

Kennedy also wrote while there were “a lot of people out there who want to see him burn in hell,” she felt differently, adding, “I don’t feel that way about him, but I do feel in a way that he got everything he deserved.”

Rose’s legal team has continuously denied Kennedy’s claims since the lawsuit was first filed, with attorney Alan S. Gutman telling PEOPLE in November, “Simply put, this incident never happened. Notably, these fictional claims were filed the day before the New York State filing deadline expires… Mr. Rose is confident this case will be resolved in his favor.”

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.

source: people.com