Certainly one of Akon‘s 9 wives, Amirah Iman-Thiam, is suing Publix Tremendous Markets after she claims an worker sexually violated her. In accordance with courtroom paperwork obtained by AllHipHop, the incident befell in September 2022 in Roswell, Georgia.
The worker, Jonathan Ross, a inventory clerk with a disciplinary file, lingered close to the natural snacks, an space exterior his assigned duties watching her. As Iman-Thiam scanned her groceries, Ross slid behind her. “That gown bought me rethinking my lunch break,” he muttered per the docs. Earlier than she might react, his fingers gripped her buttocks and vaginal space, the violence lasting mere seconds.
The shop supervisor’s admission later chilled investigators: Ross had exhibited erratic habits for months but remained unsupervised close to clients. Bodycam footage confirmed Iman-Thiam trembling as police arrived, her voice cracking: “He simply… violated me.” Ross confessed inside hours and he was in the end convicted of sexual battery.
Iman-Thiam claims the trauma metastasized. Nightmares pressured her to cancel a 12-city European tour, costing $287,000 in assured charges and torpedoing collaborations with Grammy Award-winning producers.
“My creativity’s gone,” she informed her therapist, now counting on Instacart deliveries and a $150/hour safety escort for important errands.
The docs learn, “Ms. lman-Thiam’s skilled and private life has been severely impacted by Publix’s negligence. Ms. lman-Thiam is the spouse of famed singer and producer, Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (‘Akon’). She is a rising recording artist and rapper with Konvict Muzik. On the time of the accident, Ms. Iman-Thiam had simply negotiated a global tour settlement with Common Artist Options Worldwide and Quilox, LLC. She was contracted to carry out a multi-city musical tour comprising ofmusical concert events inside Africa and United Arab Emirates between November 1, 2022 to January 5, 2023. She was contracted to earn $4,000,000.00 for her performances.
“The tour settlement is hooked up to this letter and, like this letter, is strictly confidential. Because of Publix’s negligence, Ms. lman-Thiam additionally suffered from critical emotional and bodily trauma. Ms. Iman-Thiam and her husband are religious Muslims. Culturally, Muslim ladies are forbidden to obtain bodily, sexual contact from anybody who just isn’t their partner. It is a strict prohibition within the Islamic religion.”
The proceed, “In gentle of the sexual battery, Ms. Iman-Thiam was required to hunt cleaning and remedy from an Imam (a priest) in Senegal (which is her husband’s dwelling nation). For about one (1) yr, she was required to wish six (6) instances a day and have interaction in cleaning and purification rituals till she was totally cleansed as prescribed within the Islamic religion. Consequently, Ms. Iman-Thiam’s tour needed to be cancelled.”
Publix’s movement to dismiss the lawsuit—filed in Fulton County Superior Courtroom—claimed Ross acted exterior his employment, however Iman-Thiam’s attorneys countered with damning proof: the chain had no sexual harassment protocols for frontline workers, regardless of 19 comparable incidents statewide since 2020.
The grievance alleges Publix’s negligence reworked its shops into searching grounds, with Ross’s historical past making the assault “as predictable as a Tuesday BOGO sale.” Iman-Thiam is searching for punitive damages for reputational hurt and emotional misery, her authorized group arguing the company prioritized revenue over background checks.
“This wasn’t a rogue worker,” her lawyer said. “This was a damaged system weaponized in opposition to ladies.”
As depositions loom, Publix’s quarterly earnings report, launched days after Ross’s conviction, famous a $4.2 million allocation for “buyer incident resolutions.”
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