NBA superstar and former first-overall draft pick Zion Williamson has been accused of rape and physical abuse in Los Angeles by a Jane Doe claiming to be his former girlfriend, according to a lawsuit obtained by Daily Mail.
In addition to two specific rape allegations, the New Orleans Pelicans power forward is accused of a continuing pattern of ‘abusive, controlling, and threatening behavior toward Plaintiff,’ as detailed in the filing provided to Daily Mail by Doe’s attorney.
‘We and our client do not want to litigate this case in the press,’ the statement from the Lanier Law Firm’s Sam Taylor began. ‘However, I will say this is a very serious case as reflected in the Complaint filed in Los Angeles County. Our client looks forward to her day in court before a jury of her peers to obtain justice in this matter.’
According to the filing, Doe and Williamson began dating around 2018 when he was attending Duke. They allegedly remained together through June of 2023, by which time he was playing in the NBA for the Pelicans.
The Plaintiff claims Williamson abused and controlled her throughout their relationship, adding that the punishment was ‘sexual, physical, emotional and financial in nature.’ In some cases, Doe claimed, Williamson would choke or smother her, causing her to ‘reasonably fear for her life.’ He’s also accused of threatening her life and the lives of her family.
Williamson’s attorneys at Usdin, Kupperman, Freeman & Sarver have released a statement denying the accusations and accusing the Plaintiff of ‘demanding millions of dollars’ in an ‘attempt to exploit’ their client.
Doe claims to have been raped twice by Williamson after he moved to Beverly Hills in the fall of 2020 to train during COVID.
After being picked up at a hotel by a person described in the complaint as Williamson’s agent, she was brought to the 6-foot-6 NBA superstar’s home to find he wasn’t there, according to the filing. Doe claims when Williamson eventually did return home late that evening, she tried top leave only for him to call her ‘stuck up’ and a ‘b****’ before demanding sex.
When she refused, Williamson allegedly ‘pinned Plaintiff down on the bed with her hands behind her back and raped her.’
The Plaintiff goes on to accuse Williamson of denying her access to her phone, choking her and yelling at her for ‘talking too much.’
A second rape is alleged to have occurred a month later after Doe told Williamson she wanted to visit a friend in San Diego, according to the filing.
Williamson allegedly told her she couldn’t go before growing angry and throwing things, which the Plaintiff said resulted in her being fearful.
An enraged Williamson allegedly picked up Doe before throwing her down on the floor and violently raping her.
He is then accused of taking her phone and laptop for a period of time to prevent her from reporting the alleged assault or seeking medical care.
Doe insists these were not isolated incidents, but part of a broader pattern of abuse, rape and assault.
The relationship came to an end in 2023.
It’s already been a turbulent offseason for Williamson, who recently represented the Pelicans at the NBA Draft Lottery earlier this month.
The mother of his young daughter was arrested in April for allegedly stalking, threatening and beating another woman romantically linked to the power forward.
Police in the exclusive New Orleans suburb of Kenner, Louisiana arrested Ahkeema Love after she allegedly egged her rival’s home, threatening the woman on social media, and later attacking her at Williamson’s house. Cops say the unnamed victim had lacerations on her face, as reported by WDSU.com.
According to officers, Love fled the scene but was arrested nearby on Royal Palm Drive in the Gabriel development, a gated community along Lake Pontchartrain.
Love’s bond was set at $50,000 on Tuesday as she was charged with three counts of home invasion, aggravated battery, and stalking.
Furthermore, Love has been ordered to stay away from the victim and surrender her pistol.
Neither woman is believed to be the Plaintiff in the rape lawsuit against Williamson.
That was hardly the first drama to come from the 24-year-old Williamson’s romantic life.
He and Love revealed in June of 2023 that they would be having a baby girl, only to have that announcement clouded by allegations that the former No. 1 pick was having an affair with a porn star, Moriah Mills.
In response to Williamson’s birth announcement, Mills, 32, exposed her romantic relationship with the NBA star by sharing alleged screenshots of their intimate text messages.
According to Mills, Williamson never told her that he was seeing anyone, let alone that he was an expecting father.
‘I was with you last week in New Orleans and you couldn’t tell me you had a random thot pregnant after all I’ve done for you @Zionwilliamson,’ Mills tweeted in June. ‘Better pray I’m not pregnant too because I’m definitely late.’
Mills’ Twitter account was ultimately suspended after she threatened to leak sex tapes of herself with Williamson.
She claimed she was involved with Williamson beginning in 2021 and referred to his girlfriend Ahkeema as ‘a low-budget pornstar.’
Mills also made repeated attacks against Williamson on Twitter.
‘You will lose all your endorsements if the sex tapes drop @ZionWilliamson!!’ she wrote.
The first pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, Williamson has failed to live up to lofty expectations in the pros, mostly due to injury and conditioning problems.
Although he’s lost some weight recently, Williamson was shut down at the end of the season after suffering a lower back contusion.
Over 29 games in 2024-25, Williamson averaged 24.6 points and 7.2 rebounds a game, while hitting an impressive 56.7 percent of his field goals.
