A San Diego-based DJ and producer and a woman he sued, alleging she falsely tweeted that he sexually assaulted her, have settled his lawsuit.
Lawyers for Geoffrey Boss, also known as STUCA and Elestu, and Madyson “Mady” Ward, announced the accord during a hearing Friday before Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Mark H. Epstein. No terms were divulged.
Boss claimed that falsely accused him after he spurned her efforts to resume their romantic relationship. Ward, however, claims she only wanted a platonic relationship and had to fight off unwanted advances from Boss.
In their own court papers, lawyers for Ward said the defendant is a software engineer who lived in Los Angeles and became a fan of electronic dance music in 2019.
After meeting Boss, Ward was the recipient of unwanted advances, including being forcibly kissed by him, according to court papers filed by her attorneys. She also claims he had panic attacks when she objected to his desire for an exclusive relationship.
“While she was still worried about the backlash she knew she would experience from speaking out, she did not want other women to go through what she went through and she felt validated when multiple women reached out to thank her for speaking up and shared their own similar experiences with Boss,” Ward’s lawyers wrote.
Boss tells a different story.
The DJ brought the defamation complaint last Sept. 21, seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and a court order directing Ward to remove any such statements that remain online.
Boss and Ward met in 2021 on the social media, developed a friendship, got together in person in March of that year and soon began an amorous relationship, the suit stated. Ward never told Boss that she did not wish to be intimate with the plaintiff before, during or after their first such encounter.
“In fact, Ward at times initiated the intimate and sexual activities with Boss,” according to the suit.
Ward also sent Boss sexually charged text messages after they engaged in sexual activity, the suit stated.
However, last May, a friend and colleague of Boss told the plaintiff that he also had been having sex with Ward, the suit stated. Ward initially denied having a relationship with the friend, but ultimately confessed to ongoing relations with the other man after Boss confronted her.
Ward also acknowledged having sex with another member of Boss’ professional circle, according to the suit. As a result, Boss ended his intimate relationship with her and told her they could still be friends.
Over the next two weeks, Ward sought to revive the intimate relationship with Boss, but he insisted on remaining platonic, the suit stated. By the end of last May, after Boss had repeatedly rejected Ward’s efforts to rekindle their romance, her demeanor toward Boss became erratic and she accused him of playing games with her.
Boss stopped communicating with her after she gave his phone number last June to a friend of hers he didn’t know, who called the plaintiff, his attorneys wrote.
About two months later, Ward tweeted, “Earlier this year, I was sexually assaulted by Geoff Boss –otherwise known as @stucamusic/@elestumusic,” followed by a long statement that began, “Today I am coming forward to share how I was sexually assaulted by Stuca/Elestu/Geoff Boss,” the suit stated.
“Contrary to the tweet and the statement, Ward consented to all intimate and sexual activity between Boss and Ward and at times expressly solicited intimate and sexual activity,” the suit stated.
The allegedly defamatory statements have caused Boss shame and embarrassment as well as lost income after his invitations to perform at multiple concerts and festivals were rescinded, according to the suit. He also has lost numerous fans, the suit alleged.
Boss, from the @stucamusic account, previously active on Twitter, has not posted since issuing an Aug. 17 denial of Ward’s accusations. In the post, he called it “devastating that someone would fabricate this scenario.”
– City News Service