The Pussycat Dolls, the girl group formed by Robin Antin in the mid-1990s, is suing British news outlet the Daily Mail over stories it ran in October 2017 claiming that group members were abused and that the group served as a “front for a prostitution ring.”
The allegations were made by a former backup singer, Kaya Jones. She was quoted in an Oct. 17 article with the headline: “Exclusive: Defiant ex-Pussycat Doll Ms. Jones tells how top record exec sexually assaulted her in the back of his limo – one day after saying the band was more ‘prostitution ring’ than pop group.”
Jones also claimed that the girls were “drugged” and that Antin was “responsible” for their treatment, as well as the 2014 suicide death of Simone Battle, a member of G.R.L., another girl group formed by Antin.
READ MORE: Cancelled TV shows: ‘Kevin Can Wait,’ ‘The Mick,’ ‘Quantico’ and many more
Jones also took to Twitter in October to tweet about her alleged experience with the group.
“My truth,” Jones wrote. “I wasn’t in a girl group. I was in a prostitution ring. Oh & we happened to sing & be famous. While everyone who owned us made the $.”
The Pussycat Dolls Inc. and the band’s manager Antin filed a complaint against the Daily Mail in New York State on May 21.
READ MORE: Melania Trump wins damages from Daily Mail over ‘escort’ allegation
According to documents filed, Jones auditioned for the group but was rejected for a marquee position instead hired as a backup vocalist. She’s described in the suit as “disgruntled.”
According to Billboard, the complaint reads: “This defamation action arises out of the intentional, reckless and malicious publication by the Daily Mail Corp. … of false and defamatory statements made by a disgruntled, unreliable and biased person looking for her 15 minutes of fame, Kaya Jones, when the Defendants knew through their direct prior dealings with Plaintiffs, or should have known, with even the most basic check, that Ms. Jones was unreliable and her story obviously false.”
The complaint continues: “Instead, for pure sensationalism, and advertising money, and to grab salacious headlines to sell their product, and without caring what it meant for Plaintiffs, their business, or their reputation, the Defendants published and commented on these defamatory statements with a reckless disregard for the truth. The extent of Ms. Jones’ credits in The Pussycat Dolls is when she auditioned, and served as a backup vocalist on the song Sway released in 2004 and the song We Went as Far as We Felt Like Going also released in 2004. Had the Daily Mail performed any investigation into this matter, such as reviewing album credits available on the Internet, they would have also seen this information.”
READ MORE: Ashton Kutcher responds to magazine over cheating allegations
The complaint also details Jones as an “unreliable source,” whose bias should have been evident “due to her failure to be chosen to be a member of the group and reunion.”
“The publication of Ms. Jones’ defamatory claims has also had an immeasurably negative impact on the business reputation of The Pussycat Dolls,” the complaint continues, according to Billboard. “Shortly before Ms. Jones’ defamatory statements, The Pussycat Dolls had announced plans to reunite. One of the central themes of the all women group is female empowerment. The Daily Mail’s articles directly impacted the group’s reputation in this regard and in turn has caused incalculable damage to any effort to reunite by the group.”
The suit also claims that the paper neglected to properly vet what it would commit to print by not contacting Antin, with whom the Daily Mail had a relationship. Antin had participated in previous stories.
The plaintiffs are seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages. Antin says her reputation as a business person has suffered as a result of the stories.
The Daily Mail has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
Comments