Jennifer An says an alleged video set encounter with Ye left her scared and frozen

Warning: This article discusses allegations of physical and sexual misconduct.

A model who alleges Kanye West choked her during a music video shoot has said the encounter left her feeling “suffocated, unsure and scared”.

Jennifer An, a former contestant on America’s Next Top Model, is suing the rapper, who is now known as Ye, over an alleged incident she says happened in 2010. Speaking to the BBC’s Fame Under Fire podcast, An claimed West choked her and put his fingers in her mouth while filming a scene for a music video in which he was making a cameo appearance.

Lawyers for West do not deny that the encounter took place. However, they have argued that it formed part of an “intense and provocative theatrical performance”, claiming the rapper was trying to emulate a scene from the film American Psycho.

BBC News said it had contacted West’s representatives for further comment.

She was 24 when she was hired to appear in the US music video for La Roux’s hit song In For The Kill. She said she did not know West would be on set when she arrived at the Chelsea Hotel in New York.

At the time, her modelling career had gained attention after her 2009 appearance on America’s Next Top Model. She told podcast presenter Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty that filming was already underway when crew members suddenly began running around the hotel, saying West was coming.

An said the models were then lined up in a hallway before West arrived and chose three women to appear in a scene with him. She was one of them.

According to An, West began shooting his section but could not remember his lines. She said he then called cut and shifted the focus to a different scene. A claimed he placed a chair in front of the camera, sat behind the camera himself and told her to sit down.

“I didn’t know what was gonna happen,” she said. “I was given no direction.”

An alleged that once the music started and cameras began rolling, West suddenly reached out and started choking her. She said he then used both hands, smeared make-up across her face and put his fingers inside her mouth.

She said the action “simulated oral sex” and claimed it felt as though he was trying to touch as much as possible. She added that the way he smeared her make-up “just felt wrong”.

An said many people were present on the shoot, but no one intervened. She described them as still, silent and staring.

The BBC said it had contacted Universal Music Group, La Roux’s record label, for comment.

An claimed the encounter ended when West said something like, “This is art, I’m Picasso”, before saying he had got what he wanted and leaving. Asked whether she tried to stop him, An said she froze because she did not know what to do and feared losing her job.

West did not appear in the released In For The Kill music video, although he featured on a remix of the song.

An said she later spoke to La Roux, whose real name is Elly Jackson, and asked whether the footage would be used. She said Jackson apologised and assured her it would not be shared.

In 2024, An contacted Jackson on Instagram and asked whether she remembered the alleged incident. According to messages submitted to the court, Jackson said she did and described it as “horrific”.

An filed her civil lawsuit later in 2024 under New York City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act. The case has not gone to trial. West’s lawyers have asked for it to be dismissed, arguing that the encounter happened during expressive art and should be protected by the First Amendment.

They also argued that An did not object, leave or express a lack of consent.

An’s lawyer, Jesse Weinstein, told Fame Under Fire that allowing artists to justify such alleged behaviour as art would set a dangerous precedent.