The-Dream claims former protégé accuser sent racy text messages as she pursued him for sex in explosive court papers

Hitmaker The-Dream has returned fire at the female former protégée accusing him in a lawsuit of rape, sexual assault and sex trafficking – with his own startling allegations against the singer.

The music producer, real name Terius Gesteelde-Diamant, is accused of trapping Chanaaz Mangroe in an abusive relationship where he subjected her to 'violent sexual acts and vicious psychological torture', according to paperwork filed today in US District Court in Central California.

But lawyers for 46-year-old The-Dream, who has penned hits for Beyonce and Rihanna, filed Friday to have the case thrown out in explosive court documents.

The music legend accuses Dutch-born Mangroe of chasing him for sex, even shortly after they met when she pointed to his genitals and asked 'do you need help with that?' according to the motion.

Attorneys for The-Dream also blasted her lawsuit against him as a financial shake-down to 'extract a settlement' against a 'highly-respected Black musician in the arts industry'.

They assert it contains '300 paragraphs of largely irrelevant, inaccurate and intentionally out-of-context allegations' and 'weaponizes destructive racial stereotypes'.

Hitmaker The-Dream, real name Terius Gesteelde-Diamant, has returned fire at the female former protégée accusing him in a lawsuit of rape, sexual assault and sex trafficking – with his own startling allegations against the singer

Mangroe, who performed under the stage name of Channii Monroe, claimed he 'told her that he would make her the next Beyoncé and Rihanna' with promises to promote her music career, according to her lawsuit

In June 2016, long after their courtship ended, Mangroe unilaterally lobbed strings of bizarre, sexually graphic messages at Diamant, court papers claimed.  He was uncomfortable with an emoji intended to signify male genitals ejaculating, according to the docs.  Diamant responded: 'I'm with my kids'

 According to the court papers, Mangroe's 'character assassination' was targeting 'the destruction of everything he has ever done as a musician and as a Black figure' – and designed to damage his marriage to third wife Lalonne Martinez.

In bold letters in the motion to dismiss, the music-maker's attorneys refer to his real name in his defense, writing: 'Plaintiff (Mangroe) is not, and never was, Diamant's victim – full stop'.

The filing says they were 'two adults who engaged in a brief and consensual courtship', insisting: 'There was never non-consensual sex between them, there was never sex exchanged for money or other commercial gains; and Diamant never abused Plaintiff in any way'.

And in a further damning riposte, they accuse Mangroe of continuing to chase the singer-songwriter after their brief relationship around 2015 had ended.

'Plaintiff routinely sought out Diamant for many years after their interactions ended, unilaterally soliciting sex (and other favors), including in writing, even when Diamant refused,' the filing says.

Mangroe first met The-Dream after reaching out to one of his friends who made the introduction. He didn't know who she was – but shortly afterward she made the genitals comment, according to the paperwork.

She continued the theme after they split. In June, 2016 Mangroe 'unilaterally lobbed strings of bizarre, sexually graphic messages' at The-Dream and he was 'uncomfortable with the communications,' his attorneys claim.

He responded to tell her was 'out of line'. But she continued and sent an emoji intended to signify male genitals ejaculating next to a smiling licking tongue emoji.

Father-of-four The-Dream messaged that he was 'with my kids'. Yet Mangroe kept texting, saying: 'u had me in my feels… my imagination is running wild.. I need to get my act together'.

As one example, on June 23, 2016, Mangroe wrote to Diamant that they 'could have created something bigger than life,' that 'there was just so much more ahead,' and that she wished they could 'hit refresh and start fresh' together. Indeed, the ending of their courtship 'makes [her] sad still.'

The documents claims Mangroe continued 'for years to use Diamant's extensive connections to secure favors and support for her personal benefit'.

As recently as July, 2023, she 'continued to dwell on the end of her courtship' by asking the pal who introduced them to send her 'regards' to The-Dream and acknowledged 'the tremendous amount of respect' she had for him.

The motion to dismiss also accuses Mangroe of framing a shock media campaign to inflict maximum damage.

This included a large 'trigger warning' stamp on the cover page of her complaint – which was sent to The New York Times before it was filed into the United States District Court, Central District of California.

Her civil complaint includes 'countless falsehoods designed to smear Diamant's reputation' and is also designed to 'hurt innocent people she knows Diamant cares about the most: his children, his wife, and those he considers family', says the motion to dismiss.

The-Dream's attorneys add Mangroe and lawyers at her legal firm Wigdor have 'targeted these individuals and these relationships by falsely characterizing Diamant as a misogynist, a deadbeat parent and a domestic abuser.

'Indeed, Diamant's children have suffered cyberbullying and social abuse as a direct result of Plaintiff's publishing of false claims.

'These character assassinations do nothing to support any legal claims; they are gratuitous and attempt to force Diamant to choose between settling and the possibility of losing the most important relationships in his life.'

The new filing says the complaint should be thrown out because it is an 'improper shotgun pleading'. These are where there are many allegations but none of them specific enough for a defendant to respond properly to them.

According to the court papers, Mangroe's 'character assassination' was targeting 'the destruction of everything he has ever done as a musician and as a Black figure' – and designed to damage his marriage to third wife Lalonne Martinez

The documents claims Mangroe continued 'for years to use Diamant's extensive connections to secure favors and support for her personal benefit'

Paperwork accompanying the motion to dismiss includes an eight-page letter accusing Mangroe of making 'paragraph after paragraph of utterly irrelevant allegations'.

It says these 'have no connection to this case and appear to have been included solely to attack Diamant's reputation or to create prejudice against him'.

On the same theme, it concludes: 'Plaintiff's complaint contains dozens of allegations that are utterly irrelevant to her sexual battery and sex trafficking claims and are, instead, designed to smear Diamant's name and reputation'.

These included references to Diamant's previous marriages and the 'number of children he has fathered and with whom'. Also 'allegations relating to Diamant's alleged affairs, aversion to providing childcare, divorces and prior law enforcement dealings'.

On the rape claim, the attorneys insist that under California law 'rape does not constitute a distinct cause of action in civil law'.

And on the sex-trafficking accusation, they say Mangroe 'has wholly failed to plead a claim in an allegation that would need to prove force, threats, fraud and coercion in a 'commercial sex act'.

As recently as June and July 2023, Mangroe wrote to Garland, sending her 'regards' to Diamant, reflecting on the 'tremendous amount of respect' she had for him and 'the opportunities [she] was given,' reminiscing on the times she spent in the studio with Diamant, and (once again) lamenting the end of their courtship, court docs claim.

The letter ends: 'Per the above, Defendants intend to file a motion to dismiss each of Plaintiff's causes of action, and a motion to strike Plaintiff's immaterial and unnecessary scandalous allegations… unless the parties are able to resolve these issues without judicial intervention.'

Mangroe's former record label Contra-Paris LLC is also accused in the lawsuit. It is claimed it failed to intervene while allegedly knowing of incidents involved in the claims. It argues that it is a Delaware-based company and not liable for this action in California.

Desiree F. Moore, one of the attorneys for both defendants, told DailyMail.com: 'The complaint is a textbook example of a 'shotgun pleading' and must be dismissed in its entirety for failing to attribute specific factual allegations to each defendant.

'Absent any facts alleging Plaintiff's involvement in a 'commercial sex act', her cause of action for sex trafficking against Diamant must be dismissed.'

Mangroe's lawsuit alleges The-Dream lured her into a relationship with false promises of launching her music career.

 She was 23 at the time when, according to the filing, The-Dream led the 'vulnerable artist into an abusive, violent and manipulative relationship'.

The recording guru and prolific songwriter – who has won eight Grammys – was involved in hits such as Rihanna's Umbrella, Justin Bieber's Baby and Mariah Carey's Touch My Body. He also helped make Beyoncé's Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) and Break My Soul.

Having built a close bond with Beyoncé, The-Dream has also been credited on each of the superstar's albums since 2008.

Mangroe, who performed under the stage name of Channii Monroe, claimed he 'told her that he would make her the next Beyoncé and Rihanna' with promises to promote her music career, according to her lawsuit.

Paperwork accompanying the motion to dismiss includes an eight-page letter accusing Mangroe of making 'paragraph after paragraph of utterly irrelevant allegations'.

However, he allegedly entrapped her in an abusive relationship, during which she said he repeatedly raped her and strangled her.

She also claimed she was a victim of revenge porn as he once filmed an intimate encounter and threatened to send it to other people.

According to her complaint, they met when The-Dream reached out to her in late 2014 and asked her to send him her music.

In January 2015, Mangroe said she traveled to meet him in Atlanta, where he took her to a strip club and began recording with her.

In her lawsuit, she claimed that the record producer quickly began to pressure her into sex and told her it was 'part of the process.'.

She also alleged that at one point, he brought her to a house with a studio, locked her in a dark room and 'would only stop aggressively having sex with her once she said that she loved him'.

In her lawsuit, Mangroe claimed the producer would refuse to use a condom, increasingly became more violent and controlling over time and would often place a gun next to her when forcing her to have sex.

She claimed that in the summer of 2015, she reported his abuse to an Epic executive, who ignored her complaints and told her that 'she needed to figure out a way to work with Dream again'.

The following year, she claimed the major music label dropped her because of The-Dream not delivering music.

Epic is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Mangroe shared a statement with The New York Times and said she has been unable to pursue her dream of becoming a musician due to the trauma from his alleged abuse.

'What Dream did to me made it impossible to live the life I envisioned for myself and pursue my goals as a singer and songwriter,' she said.

'Ultimately, my silence has become too painful, and I realized that I need to tell my story to heal,' she continued in the statement. 'I hope that doing so will also help others and prevent future horrific abuse.'

The-Dream was also previously accused of violence against women. In 2014, he was charged with assault after a former girlfriend — who was eight months pregnant at the time — alleged he kicked, punched and choked her.

His now-ex claimed he also threatened to kill her 'like OJ Simpson killed Nicole Brown' during the altercation.

The following year, the case was dismissed when prosecutors said they could not prove the assault 'beyond a reasonable doubt' and his charges were dropped.

The-Dream has previously denied Mangroe's allegations to The New York Times and called them 'untrue and defamatory'.

He also told the outlet that he's 'deeply offended and saddened' by them.

'I oppose all forms of harassment and have always strived to help people realize their career goals,' he said. 'As someone committed to making a positive impact on my fellow artists and the world at large, I am deeply offended and saddened by these accusations.'

Mangroe is being represented by the same lawyers who represented Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura when she sued Sean 'Diddy' Combs, in November 2023.

The lawsuit, which detailed harrowing recollections of abuse as seen in the recently reemerged footage of the embattled rapper violently attacking her in a hotel hallway, was settled just one day after filing.