Rapper-singer K'naan is on trial over an allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel room in 2010 after a music festival.
The 48-year-old musician, born Keinan Abdi Warsame, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s in a room at a Hilton hotel in Quebec City in July 2010 while he was performing at the Festival d'été de Québec.
The alleged victim, an artist whose identity is protected by a publication ban, began testifying Tuesday (March 10) from behind a screen, per CBC.
She told the court she first came to know Warsame in 2010 after they connected online, and they arranged to meet when he was scheduled to perform in Quebec City. She said they spent time together before and after the performance and that Warsame was initially "absolutely charming."
The woman testified they were kissing later in the hotel, and it became clear they were going to have sexual intercourse when she realized she did not have a condom. She said this making Warsame “enormously angry” and that he tried to have sex with her without a condom, but she pushed him off, and he appeared to accept this before they went to sleep.
The woman said she woke up during the night feeling a weight on her and realized Warsame was having intercourse with her, adding that she felt paralyzed and confused.
“How could an extraordinary man become a monster and use me like that?” she said.
The woman told the court that the next morning, they had sex again, this time initiated by her, which she described as an attempt to repair what had happened and take back her humanity.
She said she was initially in denial about the incident, and only later, through conversations with a therapist, came to understand she had been sexually assaulted.
“I knew it, my body knew it, l've always known it. But to admit it to myself was extremely difficult,” she said.
She also testified that she maintained some contact with Warsame afterward.
In a text message sent the following day and read in court, she wrote, “I had a beautiful time meeting you, but I have not been sleeping well about the non-condom thing.”
She met him again two weeks afterward when he performed at the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival.
“I wanted to repair things. I wanted it to be charming again as it was in the beginning,” she testified, though she said the meeting did not go well and left her feeling humiliated.
In December 2013, Warsame contacted her by email, writing, “Wonder how you're doing. I know our interaction could have been more beautiful. I certainly have done a bit of growing up... not too much," followed by a smiley face emoticon.
A few months later, he reached out again, asking if she planned to visit him in New York, where he was living.
She first replied no and then sent another message minutes later saying, “You think you can just reach out to me like that? After how you acted? Come on now. Take care.”
He responded the same day, writing, “If after all these years you can bear a grudge you're absolutely not someone I would want to reach out to.”
Two days later she replied, “Right. Because you have absolutely no clue of what you did. I know that. Maybe one day I will fill you in on your actions.”
Throughout her testimony, Warsame reportedly listened quietly and occasionally took notes.
The trial is expected to last four or five days and will continue Wednesday morning with cross examination by his lawyer.
Warsame is best known for his 2009 hit "Wavin' Flag."