Benny Medina, the “Fresh Prince Of Bel Air” producer and music manager who has worked with Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith and Mariah Carey, has been accused of attempted rape by actor Jason Dottley.
Medina âcategorically denies the allegation of attempted rape,â his attorneys say.
The allegation was made by Dottley (Logoâs Sordid Lives: The Series) in an article posted by The Advocate yesterday and updated today with Medinaâs denial.
Dottley says the incident occurred in December of 2008, and that he was inspired to tell his story after Anthony Rapp went public with allegations against Kevin Spacey.
According to Dottley, he and a friend, Sordid Lives costar T. Ashanti Mozelle, met Medina in a West Hollywood bar and returned to the managerâs Los Angeles mansion. Dottley says he assumed Medina, well known for managing Lopez and exec-producing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Maid in Manhattan and at the time was an executive consultant on The Tyra Banks Show, was romantically interested in Mozelle (Dottley was married at the time to TV writer and playwright Del Shores, and wore a wedding ring).
While Mozelle was swimming in Medinaâs pool, Dottley says Medina was showing him photos of celebrities and led him to a bedroom door.
Dottley says, âThere was no âDo you want to see my bedroom?â We literally got to the door and he grabbed me by the chest of my shirt and threw me onto his bed. Now Iâm 6 foot tall and was 155 pounds, and this is a stocky strong man. We all have these things playing in our heads of what would we ever do if someone ever tried to do something, and none of my preplanned motions would work.â
Dottily that Medina pinned him to the mattress âwhile forcefully placing his thighs over Dottleyâs legs to keep them from squirming.â
âAt this point, Dottley remembers, he started to cry and beg Medina to stop. But the mogul allegedly wouldnât stop and kept repeating, âIâm having you! Oh, I will have youâŠâ
The incident, Dottley says, was interrupted when Mozelle âburst in the room.â He says a few days later Medina sent him a text message threatening husband Shores. Dottley says he told few people about the incident then, including his husband, but did later confide in his manager Renee Bailey, who confirmed.
Adds Dottley, âFor the record, I donât plan on suing for money.â
Medina, who continues to work with Lopez, executive produced the 2013-17 series The Fosters and is slated to executive produce NBCâs 2018 production Bye Bye Birdie Live! starring Lopez.