Lily Allen has said her record label “failed to act” after she informed them that she was sexually assaulted.
Speaking to The Next Episode podcast, Allen said she spoke to a chief executive at her record label last year about her alleged assault by an industry figure in 2016, and that no action was taken.
Allen alleged that the incident took place on a work trip to the Caribbean where she’d been at a party with a record industry executive before heading back to their hotel.
Allen said: “We got to my hotel. I couldn’t find my room keys. So he was like, ‘Well, why don’t you sleep in my bed while I go and get the keys or whatever.’ So I passed out in his bed. I woke up and he was in my bed naked slapping my bum.”
Allen alleges that she could feel him trying to have sex with her and whilst she didn’t report the incident to the police, believes “most of the music industry knows who it is.”
“I made a decision, I didn’t want to go to the police. I didn’t want to make a fuss and I wanted to keep it quiet…I remember thinking about his mum and how she would deal with the news that her son was a sexual predator and I was prioritising everybody else in this situation except for myself.”
Speaking to the BBC, a label spokesperson for Warner said: “We take accusations of sexual misconduct extremely seriously and investigate claims that are raised with us.”
When asked if the record label executive would do anything about the allegation after meeting with Allen, she replied: “No.”
Allen first wrote about the alleged assault in her book My Thoughts Exactly, published last year after seeing women coming forward in the film industry sharing their own #MeToo experiences.
“I would feel awful if I found out that somebody much younger and more vulnerable had had a similar experience that could have been prevented,” Allen said.”It’s my responsibility just to let some people know that this incident happened.”
Speaking to the BBC, Warner Music said it found Allen’s allegations from 2016 “appalling” and said: “We’re very focused on enforcing our Code of Conduct and providing a safe and professional environment at all times.”