‘ANTM’ Alum Jenn An Accuses Kanye West of Choking Her During Music Video Shoot

The allegations involving former America’s Next Top Model contestant Jennifer An and Kanye West are heating up. The model claims Kanye choked her and forced his fingers into her mouth while cameras rolled during a 2010 music video shoot.

Jenn does not appear to have had a personal relationship with Kanye before the alleged incident. She met him while working on a video connected to La Roux’s “In for the Kill” remix.

Jenn filed a civil lawsuit in New York federal court in November 2024. Her complaint names Kanye, Universal Music Group, and production company Stink Digital USA as defendants.

Jenn, whose legal name is Jenifer, told the BBC that she did not know Kanye would appear at the shoot when she accepted the job. According to Jenn, the atmosphere changed after the crew learned he was coming.

Staff allegedly lined the models up in a hallway before Kanye selected three women for a scene.

“He had me sit in the chair in front of the camera, and I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was given no direction,” Jenn recalled. “I was just told to sit in this chair, and then playback started, and then 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, which simulated oral s-x.”

Jenn said she froze instead of fighting back because she felt confused and feared losing the job. She also claimed that she looked toward crew members and hoped someone would stop the scene, but no one intervened.

Her complaint alleges violations of New York City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act. Jenn claims the alleged encounter caused physical injuries, emotional distress, humiliation, financial harm, and a loss of enjoyment of life. She is seeking unspecified damages and has requested a jury trial.

Kanye has not personally addressed Jenn’s allegations in a public statement. However, his attorneys have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.

His legal team does not dispute that physical contact occurred. Instead, the attorneys called it an “intense and provocative theatrical performance” inspired by a scene from American Psycho.

They argue that staging or depicting sexual violence as part of an artistic production does not automatically make the conduct sexual violence.

Kanye’s attorneys also argue that Jenn’s lawsuit threatens his constitutional right to creative expression. Jenn’s legal team strongly disagrees.

Her attorneys say accepting that argument could allow someone to avoid responsibility for unlawful physical conduct by calling it art.