Who is Kevin Liles? CEO of 300 Entertainment asks court to toss s*xual assault lawsuit over 2002 allegations

Kevin Liles is the CEO of 300 Entertainment and the former president of Def Jam Recordings. Kevin worked at Def Jam from 1999 to 2004 and founded 300 Entertainment in 2012.

In February 2025, a woman filed a lawsuit against Kevin Liles for s*xual harassment and assault in Manhattan. As per the woman who has kept her identity hidden, the event took place in 2002 when she worked at Def Jam as an assistant. She reported that Liles made inappropriate comments and r*ped her after she rejected his advances.

Along with Liles, Jane Doe also sued Def Jam and Universal Music Group. According to the woman, the company knew about Liles' nature. Kevin Liles denied the statements, calling them false.

In a statement to Variety, Kevin Liles stated,

"After nearly 40 years of service to our culture, I’ve intentionally built a reputation for doing things the right way, treating people the right way, and empowering women. It is a shameful reality that these lies spread so freely."

According to new reports, Kevin Liles filed legal papers on Tuesday, asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit against him made by the woman. The documents reportedly state that the woman took too much time to come forward and that the legal deadline for making such claims has already passed.

Why was the lawsuit filed in 2025?

The lawsuit was filed in February 2025 because of a special New York City Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law. The law gives a second chance to the survivors to file a lawsuit against old cases till March 1, 2025.

The official statement says,

"In December 2022, the New York City Council introduced a two-year “lookback window,” permitting survivors to file lawsuits for claims rooted in gender-motivated violence even if the standard statute of limitations had previously lapsed."

The statement further gives the deadline to file the lawsuit by stating,

"Lawsuits under this provision must be filed by February 28, 2025. After February 28, 2025, only violent acts occurring within the “Standard Filing Period” of nine (9) years will be eligible for claims under the GMVA."

The woman filed the lawsuit against Kevin Liles in February, as New York City law gave her until February 28 to bring up old s*xual violence cases.

As of now, the judge in the New York Supreme Court has to review the motion and decide whether to let the case move forward or stop it. However, if the judge decides to continue the case, both parties have to move forward with the lawsuit, presenting evidence and arguments in court to settle the matter.

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