Los Angeles Clippers basketball star James Harden has been hit with a bombshell lawsuit by a woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by the athlete’s nephew after attending a New Year’s Eve party at his mansion.
Texas real estate agent Marisa Watley, 40, claims she was raped by Justice Armani Blackburn – the son of Harden’s sister Arnique Jelks – following the party in Harris County, Texas on December 31, 2024.
While only Blackburn is accused of sexual assault, his uncle – NBA star Harden – has also been named in the complaint, alleging that his security team were aware that several women were passed out from intoxication in the house and that she was in a vulnerable condition.
The complaint also claims that the security ‘was aware that Mr. Blackburn had engaged in criminal conduct towards others’ on the night in question.
Harden – who is the high-profile ex-boyfriend of Khloe Kardashian – has been sued for negligence after his team ‘recklessly failed to protect Ms. Watley’ on his own property, and ‘the result was sexual assault from which she will suffer indefinitely,’ the suit adds.
DailyMail.com has reached out to James Harden’s agent Troy Payne and the Los Angeles Clippers for comment.
According to the lawsuit, Watley was out with two of her friends at a restaurant when the trio became aware of a party happening at a nearby club called Polekatz.
Los Angeles Clippers basketball star James Harden has been hit with a bombshell lawsuit by a woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by the athlete’s nephew
Justice Armani Blackburn (pictured) – the son of Harden’s sister Arnique Jelks – is accused of raping Texas real estate agent Marisa Watley on New Year’s Eve in 2024
Watley has sued Blackburn for sexual assault and Harden for negligence
When they arrived, one of her friends is said to have pointed out at around 3:30am that Harden was there with his group in the VIP section. Soon after the same friend learned of an after party happening at the NBA legend’s home.
Watley then claims she got into an Uber with her two friends without knowing the destination, before they arrived at Harden’s property.
‘There was at least one security guard at the gate, and a guard was reviewing guest identification and instructing the guests to leave their phones in their cars,’ the suit reads. ‘Of course, Ms. Watley could not do this because she had come in an Uber.’
According to the complaint, it is believed the guard, who checked Watley and her friends’ identification before directing them to go into the ‘studio’ area of Harden’s pad, was armed with a gun.
Blackburn allegedly approached the three women at some point in the early morning, though Watley claims she initially did not know he was Harden’s nephew.
Having introduced himself, Blackburn is said to have offered the trio a drink from the bottle of liquor he was holding, and after they each took a small sip from the bottle Watley claims her memory from that point onwards is hazy. She also recalls another woman asleep on a couch in the studio.
She also alleges in the complaint that Blackburn repeatedly said to her ‘come on, come on’ while tapping her on the chest, as though he wanted her to join him somewhere urgently.
The next thing she remembers, according to the lawsuit, is ‘being shocked into consciousness while lying face down on a bed with a man behind her having aggressive sex with her.’
Watley claims she was in a ‘dream-like state and was not fully awake’ at the time of the alleged rape. As he then neared an orgasm, Blackburn is accused of demanding to know if she was on birth control. She recalls saying ‘no, no, no’ repeatedly before realizing the man having sex with her was Blackburn.
The plaintiff says in the complaint that she then began frantically looking for her phone and asking him where it was. Blackburn allegedly indicated that he did not know its whereabouts.
Watley claims one of Harden’s security guards entered the room shortly after and ordered her to leave the mansion, before he kicked her out before she could find her phone.
After telling him that she had no way of traveling without a phone she alleges the guard told her that ‘Elaina’ – which is her sister’s name – was coming to pick her up, though it is unclear how that had been arranged. He then walked her to the front gates and closed them behind her.
Watley claims in the compaint that she stopped a woman walking her dog and Harden’s neighbor for help after leaving the property, before her two friends pulled up in a car and she quickly got in. She was then finally able to call her sister at around 2:30pm.
Harden was in an eight-month relationship with Khloe Kardashian from 2015 to early 2016
Harden’s security team were aware that Watley was in a vulnerable state, her suit alleges
The Texas woman alleges that she went to an emergency room on the same day after struggling to recover mentally from what occurred, and she now speaks with a heavy stutter – a symptom of severe trauma.
With the help of her sister, she is now seeking therapy and psychiatric help.
Harden, who has an estimated net worth of $200million, is now facing allegations of negligence after Watley claimed his security personnel deliberately delayed and prevented her rescue from the property.
Her two friends are understood to have been frantically engaged for several hours in efforts to find and rescue her, having also lost consciousness shortly after drinking from Blackburn’s bottle before later waking up, according to the complaint.
When they demanded the security guards let them look for their friend, they claim one of the guards refused and told them there were no more women in the house, the lawsuit says.
Despite missing personal items themselves, and not being allowed to look for them, one of Watley’s friends found her iPhone and took it with her.
After using her phone to get in touch with Elaina, according to the complaint, Watley’s sister contacted a friend who was able to speak with Harden’s sister Arnique. Through the mutual friend, Elaina is said to have threatened that Watley’s friends were prepared to call the police if she was not found. Harden’s security team are said to have then kicked Watley out of the mansion shortly after.
According to the lawsuit, Watley is seeking ‘economic, compensatory and punitive damages’ after the alleged incident.
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