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.
Click to Gallery
FILE - L.A. Reid poses in the press room at the Billboard Music Awards, May 18, 2014, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Eric Jamison/Invision/AP, File)
Drew Dixon talks to a fan before entering the courthouse in New York, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Drew Dixon talks to a fan before entering the courthouse in New York, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Drew Dixon talks to a fan before entering the courthouse in New York, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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.
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.”
FILE - L.A. Reid poses in the press room at the Billboard Music Awards, May 18, 2014, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Eric Jamison/Invision/AP, File)
Drew Dixon talks to a fan before entering the courthouse in New York, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Drew Dixon talks to a fan before entering the courthouse in New York, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Drew Dixon talks to a fan before entering the courthouse in New York, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
MIAMI (AP) — Venezuelan players danced in the dugout before the first pitch, then pranced past Italy and into their nation's first World Baseball Classic final.
Ronald Acuña Jr., Maikel Garcia and Luis Arraez hit run-scoring, two-out singles in a rapid seventh-inning rally that sparked a 4-2 victory Monday night and vaulted Venezuela into a title matchup against the United States.
Players celebrated in the clubhouse before quickly turning focus to the final.
“A lot of dancing,” Garcia said. “We have to show the world who Venezuela is.”
Before each WBC game, Venezuelan players gather around a drum in the dugout for the tambor, coastal Afro-Venezuelan music and dance. They circle and shake, chant and enchant as they prepare to take the field in their nation's yellow, red and blue.
“That’s us. That’s our country,” manager Omar López said. “That’s winter ball. That’s how we enjoy our baseball.”
And who is tops at the tambor?
“Honestly, I think my cousin is the best dancer,” Garcia said in the postgame interview room, turning to Acuña, who was seated next to him and laughed at his relative's remark.
Eduardo Rodríguez is slated to start Tuesday night against the Americans’ Nolan McLean. Because both teams are 5-1, a coin toss was held earlier Monday to determine the home team, and the U.S. won.
Players avoided discussing the political turmoil between the U.S. and Venezuela.
“We’re here to speak baseball,” Acuña said. “Our country deserves the game tomorrow.”
Venezuela overcame a 2-0, fourth-inning deficit after climbing out of a three-run hole to beat defending champion Japan in a quarterfinal. The Venezuelans reached the championship round for the first time after losing to South Korea in their only previous semifinal appearance in 2009.
In 2023, Venezuela wasted a two-run, eighth-inning lead in a 9-7 quarterfinal loss to the U.S. in Miami as Trea Turner hit an eighth-inning grand slam.
“Baseball gives you these kind of opportunities,” Acuña said. “Life is so ironic.”
Italy, the first European nation to reach a WBC semifinal, had been 5-0 in the tournament and sparked attention with an espresso-sipping ritual after home runs and victory celebrations featuring Italian wine.
But a team with three Italy-born players, a handful of major leaguers and many from the minors couldn't hold a late-inning lead against a batting order that got three straight RBIs from All-Stars as a pro-Venezuelan sellout crowd of 35,382 at loanDepot park roared.
“In three years they are going to take us seriously,” Italy manager Francisco Cervelli said. “I just told the guys that they are the champions of this tournament. ... They revolutionized Italy. They put another sport on the map.”
Italy went ahead in the second when Keider Montero forced in a run with three straight walks, the last to J.J. D’Orazio. Dante Nori hit into a run-scoring forceout against Ricardo Sánchez, the first of six relievers who combined to finish a five-hitter.
Eugenio Suárez's fourth-inning homer off Aaron Nola started the comeback, and winner Ángel Zerpa escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth when he threw a sinker on the outside corner past Sam Antonacci.
Gleyber Torres walked leading off the seventh against loser Michael Lorenzen, and Jackson Chourio's two-out single put runners at the corners.
Acuña grounded to the shortstop hole and beat Antonacci's throw from the outfield grass as pinch-runner Andrés Giménez scored. Garcia lined a 2-0 fastball to left, driving in Chourio with the go-ahead run, and Arraez chased Lorenzen when he singled on a full-count fastball.
Daniel Palencia got three straight outs for the save, striking out Antonacci to end the game.
As Venezuelans jumped and screamed, Italy players spent 10 minutes in front of their dugout hugging each other and saluting fans. Team captain Vinnie Pasquantino talked about the millions thought to have watched on television in Italy, where the first pitch was thrown at 1:08 a.m. Tuesday.
“We weren’t successful on the field tonight, but we were successful in Italy,” he said. “And that’s what this is all about.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
The Venezuela team celebrates after defeating Italy at a World Baseball Classic semifinal game, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The Italy team console each other after losing to Venezuela at a World Baseball Classic semifinal game, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Venezuela Andres Gimenez scores on a single by Ronald Acuña Jr., during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Venezuela pitcher Daniel Palencia reacts after the team defeats Italy during a World Baseball Classic semifinal game, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Venezuela Ronald Acuña Jr. (21) celebrates after scoring during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
The Venezuela team celebrates after defeating Italy at a World Baseball Classic semifinal game, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Venezuela catcher William Contreras cheers as Luis Arraez hits a single during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Venezuela Ronald Acuña Jr. (21) celebrates after scoring during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Venezuela Jackson Chourio (1) celebrates after scoring during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Venezuela Jackson Chourio (1) scores during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Venezuela Maikel Garcia reacts to first base coach Gerardo Parra (8) after getting on the base during the seventh inning of a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
