The following story includes graphic depictions of sexual violence.
Porn actor Nikki Benz has filed a sexual battery lawsuit against production company Brazzers, its parent company MindGeek, as well as director Tony T. and performer Ramon Nomar. The suit states that Benz was “struck on the face, head, and breasts hard enough to cause her to bleed” during a December 2016 shoot.
According to the Wrap, the suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, alleges battery, assault, sexual battery, gender violence, among other offenses. The suit states that while Benz was only aware that the “shoot would be hardcore” and what she would be wearing prior to the filming, Tony T. repeatedly “slapped Benz’s face and breasts,” while telling her, “‘Open your eyes, bitch’” and “‘Open your fucking eyes.’”
“He would film with one hand and choke Benz with the other hand. Nomar stomped on Benz’s head. Between Tony T. and Nomar, Benz was hit, slapped choked and thrown on the ground and against the wall,” the suit reads. She was also gagged with her own underwear, according to the suit, and “effectively waterboarded.” The suit also says she never consented to having Tony T. touch her and tried to express that to him and Nomar by calling “cut” several times throughout the shoot.
According to the suit, Tony T. also made Benz rerecord her exit interview to say that she would work with him again after she initially said she would not, and threatened to withhold her check if she didn’t.
As a result, Benz’s suit says she suffers from “pain, suffering, emotional distress, as well as past and future medical expenses and lost wages.” She is seeking unspecified damages.
Benz first came forward with an account of assault against Tony T. in December 2016, originally stating that Tony T. had stomped on her head while filming. Several other porn stars responded to Benz’s tweets about the situation by sharing that they also had similar experiences with Tony T.
#NoMeansNo #CutMeansCut and me telling you I'm not ok with any of this should be taken seriously. I should not be beat down.
— NIKKI BENZ (@nikkibenz) December 20, 2016
On set bullying, rape, & violence should never happen. #NoMeansNo on camera, off camera. Just NO!
— NIKKI BENZ (@nikkibenz) December 20, 2016
As a result, Brazzers fired the director and refused to release the footage from the shoot, though Tony T.’s representation denied the allegations. He and Nomar have since retaliated against Benz, Brazzers, and MindGeek, suing the parties for defamation incited by Benz’s claims.
H/T TMZ