Former America's Next Top Model contestant Jennifer An is moving forward with a lawsuit against Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, over an incident she alleges occurred during a 2010 music video shoot in New York City.

In a recent podcast appearance, An detailed an encounter that she says took place while filming a sequence for La Roux's "In For The Kill" video. According to An, West physically restrained her and inserted his fingers into her mouth in a manner she says simulated oral sex.

West's legal team does not dispute that the interaction occurred. However, they argue it was part of an "intense and provocative theatrical performance" inspired by a scene from the film American Psycho.

The allegations arrive amid years of controversy surrounding West, whose public profile has become increasingly polarizing due to antisemitic remarks, offensive statements, and pro-Hitler-themed music and merchandise. The rapper has previously apologized for some of those comments and has attributed portions of his erratic behavior to diagnoses including autism and bipolar disorder.

An was 24 years old at the time of the alleged incident. Fresh off her appearance on America's Next Top Model in 2009, she attended a casting call for the La Roux video and says she had no idea West would be involved.

According to An, production was already underway at New York City's Chelsea Hotel when the atmosphere on set suddenly shifted. "The crew members suddenly stopped work and started running around the Chelsea Hotel, they're like, 'Kanye's coming, Kanye's coming'," she recalled.

An says the models were then lined up in a hallway to await West's arrival. She alleges that after entering, the rapper selected three women, including her, to appear in a scene with him.

Filming reportedly began, but An says West struggled to remember his lines and soon redirected the shoot toward a different setup. She alleges that a chair was placed in front of the camera for her while West positioned himself out of frame.

"I didn't know what was gonna happen," she said. "I was given no direction. I was just told to sit in this chair."

What followed, An claims, left her shocked and confused.

"All of a sudden he just reaches a hand out and starts choking me, and I'm just not sure what's happening, and then, he pulled his other hand out and starts choking me with both hands, and then starts smearing my makeup all over my face and sticking his hands inside of my mouth."

An said the way West used his hands in her mouth "simulated oral sex," adding: "I feel like he was like trying to touch as much as he could."

"There were a lot of people there," she added, stating that crew members and onlookers "were so still and just there, staring at me."

According to An, the encounter concluded when West declared, "this is art, I'm Picasso."

"And shortly after that, he was just like 'OK, I got what I want'. But he just abruptly got up and left," she said.

When asked why she didn't attempt to stop the situation, An explained that she froze. "No, I didn't because I didn't know what I was doing... I was more frozen, it's like 'I could lose my job'."

She described the experience as frightening and said West never spoke to her before, during, or after the alleged incident.

Although West ultimately appeared on a remix of "In For The Kill," he did not appear in the final version of the music video.

Afterward, An says she spoke with La Roux singer Elly Jackson, who apologized for what had happened.

"And then I was like, 'you're not gonna air that, right? Like, you're not gonna share that with anyone, because I can't have my mum see that'. And [Jackson] was like, no, of course not, I would never," An recalled.

More than a decade later, An reached out to Jackson through Instagram to ask whether she remembered the incident. According to court filings, Jackson replied: "I could never forget that, it was horrific."

The messages have been submitted as evidence in support of An's claims.

An filed her lawsuit in 2024 under New York City's Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act, legislation that temporarily expanded the window for survivors of sexual assault to pursue civil claims. The case has not yet reached trial. Earlier this year, West's attorneys moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the interaction took place within the context of creating artistic expression and is therefore protected under the First Amendment.

The defense has also argued that An never objected, attempted to leave, or otherwise indicated she was unwilling to participate. Court filings describe her as "by all interpretations of her complaint... a consenting participant in the stage performance."

West's attorneys further contend that the sequence was intended as an homage to American Psycho, adding that it "incidentally may have caused the Plaintiff [An] to have difficulty breathing."

An's attorney, Jesse Weinstein, pushed back on the defense's argument during his appearance on Fame Under Fire, warning that accepting such a rationale could have broader implications for the entertainment industry.

"It would be a really dangerous precedent to set" for artists to believe they can "basically do whatever they want to, whomever they want in creative spaces, and get away with it as long as they call it art."