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New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson is being accused of rape by a woman who claims to be his ex-girlfriend in a bombshell lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday (May 29), which was re-shared by Eriq Gardner of Puck News.
"This was submitted to Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday: NBA superstar Zion Williamson accused of rape. Plaintiff says she was in a dating relationship with him at Duke—before it got abusive," Gardner wrote on his X account, along with screengrabs of the documents.
The woman, who is identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, alleged that Williamson, 24, raped her twice in 2020, which included one instance at a home in Beverly Hills while training in which he demanded sex. Williamson allegedly called her "stuck up" and a "b***h" before pinning her "down on the bed with her hands behind her back and raped her," according to the lawsuit."
Williamson is also accused of a pattern of “abusive, controlling, and threatening behavior toward Plaintiff” during incidents that occurred in Louisiana and several other states. The former Duke University standout allegedly threatened to have his security guard shoot Doe “in the head while the security guard was present and carrying a loaded firearm multiple times in Louisiana between 2020 and 2023,” and “threatening to have his paid security guard kill Plaintiff’s parents, after informing Plaintiff that he knows their home address multiple times in Louisiana between 2020 and 2023," the lawsuit claims.
Doe claimed that she and Williamson previously had a "dating relationship" during his freshman season at Duke, which continued through June 2023. Williamson averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists during the 2024-25 season, having been limited to just 30 games due to a backbone contusion.
The former No. 1 overall pick has been limited by injuries throughout his NBA career, which included missing the entire 2021-22 season and the majority of the 2022-23 season.