Actress Rosario Dawson and her family are being accused of abusing a trans man who used to work for them.
Dedrek Finey says he has known Dawson’s family for decades, TMZ reports. After they invited him to come out to Los Angeles to work for them, he came out to them as transgender.
In his lawsuit, Finey claims that the family went on to continually deadname and misgender him, even after being corrected. When Finey complained to Dawson about it, she replied, “You’re a grown woman.” He tried to correct her pronoun usage, and she said, “Whatever.”
In April 2018, Finey had his hours reduced and was instructed to move out of the family’s guest house. He’d been living there for free in exchange for renovating the house.
Dawson’s mother Isabel allegedly knocked on his door and threatened to kill his cat after he refused to discuss the matter with her. She then ripped a window screen, pulled him through, and punched him, screaming, “You’re not so much of a man now.”
He says Dawson got involved by holding him down so her mother could continue the assault.
Finey says he recorded a video of some of Isabel’s earlier threats, but she took his phone during the beating. He eventually escaped to call the police from the house. He was taken to the hospital for treatment, and he filed a restraining order against Isabel. In September, the family shut off his gas to force him to move out of the guest house.
Finey is now suing for assault, battery, trespass, discrimination, civil rights, and labor violations.
Dawson seemingly came out during Pride Month 2018, just a few weeks after the alleged attack. She is now dating presidential candidate Cory Booker. As of this writing, neither one of them has commented on the lawsuit.
