Music honcho L.A. Reid settles with ex-recording executive who accused
him of sexual assault
[January 13, 2026]
By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER
NEW YORK (AP) — Grammy award-winning music producer Antonio “L.A.” Reid
reached a settlement Monday with a former record company executive who
alleged in a lawsuit that he sexually assaulted her and ruined her
career.
The terms of Reid's settlement with Drew Dixon were not made public.
Smiling with her family and lawyers outside court, Dixon said, “I’m
excited to get back to making music.” She called the litigation an
“arduous process." Her mother, former Washington, D.C., Mayor Sharon
Pratt, called it an “excruciating journey.”
Reid's lawyer, Imran H. Ansari, said in a statement: “Mr. Reid has
amicably resolved this matter with Ms. Dixon without any admission of
liability.”
Musicians John Legend and Aku Orraca-Tetteh and recording executive Roy
Lott were among the witnesses who had been set to testify on Dixon’s
behalf, according to her lawyer, Kenya Davis.
Reid, a 10-time Grammy nominee and three-time winner, and producing
partner Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds cofounded LaFace Records, a label
responsible for hits from some of the biggest pop acts of the 1990s,
including Boyz II Men, Outkast and TLC. He later ran three of the
industry’s top labels — Arista, Island Def Jam and Sony’s Epic Records —
and is credited with influencing the careers of stars including Usher,
Pink and Mariah Carey.
Reid and Dixon, a former executive at Arista, Def Jam and Legend’s
HomeSchool Records, resolved the lawsuit the same day jury selection was
slated to begin in New York in a trial over her claims.
Dixon worked for Reid when he was Arista’s chief executive. She alleged
that he sexually assaulted her twice in 2001 and later cut her budget
and sidelined artists when she rebuffed his continuing advances. Dixon
left Arista in 2002 and contends that her “meteoric trajectory” in the
music business was cut short by Reid’s harassment.
Reid left Epic Records in 2017 after a former female assistant accused
him of sexual harassment.
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Drew Dixon talks to a fan before entering the courthouse in New
York, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
 Davis said the settlement will
empower Dixon "to move forward with her creative pursuits on her own
terms, with her reputation, her voice, and her career reaffirmed.”
Dixon went public with her allegations in 2017 and detailed them in
the 2020 documentary “On the Record,” which discussed sexual
misconduct in the music industry. She has also accused ex-hip hop
mogul Russell Simmons of rape, which he denies, and has a pending
defamation lawsuit against him.
Dixon sued Reid in 2023 under New York State’s Adult Survivors Act,
which had provided sex abuse accusers a one-year window to sue even
if the statute of limitations has passed.
“I hope my work as an advocate for the Adult Survivors Act helps to
bring all of us closer to a music business that is safer for
everyone,” Dixon told reporters outside the federal courthouse in
Manhattan. “And in a world where good news is often hard to find, I
hope that survivors today see a ray of light peeking through the
clouds.”
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they
were sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly.
Dixon expanded on her future plans in a written statement, saying
that music has always been her “greatest source of comfort and joy.”
“While I have focused on sexual assault advocacy in recent years, I
have never stopped fighting for my place in this industry,” Dixon
said. “I have big ideas for future projects that will be guided by
creativity and integrity.”
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