Rosario Dawson Talked About The Allegations Made By Her Former Assistant
About this time last year, Rosario Dawson was a possible First Lady contender, and the recipient of a lawsuit from her former assistant Dedrek Finley, who alleged that Rosario and her family were transphobic, slumlords, violated labor laws, and at times, physically violent. A year later, and only the White House dreams have changed (Rosario is still Cory Booker’s first lady, so that’s something). That lawsuit, on the other hand, hasn’t gone anywhere, and Rosario recently decided to talk about the allegations made against herself and her family.
To recap, Dedrek (who presented as a woman when they were hired by Rosario), had reportedly known Rosario’s family for decades when he was hired as an assistant in 2017 and asked to move to Los Angeles. Dedrek arrived in LA after transitioning, which was something that Rosario’s family allegedly didn’t accept. Dedrek claimed that Rosario’s family used female pronouns and referred to him by his deadname while he was living in their rental property in North Hollywood rent-free (in exchange for renovation work). The hostility got worse in 2018 when Rosario’s mom Isabel Celeste allegedly fired him and kicked him out of the home by ripping a screen off a window and pulling him out. He claimed that he complained many times to Rosario about her family and that she did nothing. At one point, Rosario was allegedly present for a physical altercation between himself and her mother. He also alleged that Rosario used female language, like telling him he was a “grown woman,” then brushing off his assertion that he was not a woman.
Rosario got into the transphobic accusations during an interview she did with Vanity Fair to talk about her character in The Mandalorian, Ahsoka Tano. The Mandalorian: Your one-stop shop for characters that keep the internet going, “Ummm…“. Vanity Fair thought the two topics were relevant, due to some LGBTQ fans taking an issue with Rosario’s casting back in March.
According to Vanity Fair, 18 of the 20 claims in Dedrek’s lawsuit were voluntarily withdrawn without a settlement, and his lawyer left the case. The two remaining claims are about Dedrek’s allegations of violence, and they’ll be brought to a judge next month. Vanity Fair pointed out that some people might think that the dismissal is another case of a famous person with access to resources and money “overpowering the system,” to which Rosario responded:
“The reason that all of the discrimination claims were dropped is because they didn’t happen. I was raised in a very inclusive and loving way, and that’s how I’ve lived my entire life. I’ve always used my voice to fight for, lift up, and empower the LGBTQA community, and use my platform to channel trans voices, in fiction and nonfiction work that I’ve produced and directed. So I feel the record is really clear.”
So when Dedrek claimed that Rosario’s mom hissed, “You’re not so much of a man now” during the alleged apartment window beat down, that didn’t happen. Or it did, but it wasn’t meant to be transphobic, because that’s not how Rosario’s family rolls. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if this ends up playing out in court. Because I have a feeling that Dedrek is probably going to retell a couple of choice quotes that aren’t going to sound so great. Then again, Rosario swears her family doesn’t operate with that kind of hate in their hearts. I’m sure her explanation will be something like this:
“Your honor, I’m sure my mother meant ‘man’ in the colloquial sense, like “Hey man!“. We would never, EVER intentionally disrespect someone’s chosen pronouns while forcibly evicting them from a property via a screenless window.”
Pic: Wenn.com