Photo: Getty Images
Lil Pump has been accused of assault and battery against a man who claims he was "ambushed" by the rapper, a YouTuber and a well-known MMA fighter during their apparent hunt for child predators.
The alleged victim, Edwin Valenzuela, recently filed a lawsuit against Pump, Internet personality Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, fighter Colby Covington and several other entities. According to a report In Touch Weekly published Thursday, October 3, Valenzuela claimed the group of celebrities attacked him and falsely accused him of having inappropriate relations with minors.
“Rather, than turn to the alleged predators over to law enforcement, Vitaly, and his associates beat, harass, torture, terrorize, defame and humiliate the alleged predators on a livestream,” the suit alleged.
According to the 29-page document, Valenzuela said he was working as an Uber driver on August 12 when he got a call from two males. The guys used the driver's phone to play Lil Pump's music before they asked him if he wanted to wash a boat for some money. Valenzuela drove them around and gave them his number before he dropped them off. The men got in touch with the driver later, and he met them at a dock in Miami. Valenzuela said Zdorovetskiy and his team began recording and livestreaming soon after he was "lured on to a vessel."
Moments later, Valenzuela was bombarded by Zdorovetskiy, Lil Pump and Covington who allegedly showed him fake sexual messages between him and a minor. The plaintiff doesn't speak English so he had no clue what they were saying. Afterward, Valenzuela claimed Pump punched and kicked him in the head "like a soccer ball." Pump also allegedly shaved the victim's head, hit him in the face with a condom, and tried to force Valenzuela to eat the condom. The lawsuit also claimed the trio threatened to feed him to the gators if the didn't comply.
Valenzuela also claimed Lil Pump stole and kept his gold chains. He managed to escape from their custody and got into his car, but Lil Pump and his crew chased him down. Once he reached the victim, the rapper hurled a guard rail and hit Valenzuela's car. His vehicle suffered from significant damage and the driver was banned from Uber, which was his only source of income.
“Throughout the ordeal, Plaintiff was bombarded by verbal abuse, including racial slurs, accusations of illegal status, and threats of deportation, with multiple Defendants screaming in his face, all while being urged by an attorney to sign a release for a ‘gameshow,’” the suit read.
The disturbing incident is part of Vitaly's 10-episode series called "Catching Predators." In his spoof of NBC's "To Catch A Predator," the controversial streamer recruits other celebrities and artists to help him catch unsuspecting men in the act of engaging in inappropriate acts with minors. Some instances have led to actual arrests of alleged pedophiles while other episodes are just weird. Artists like Swae Lee, Akon, The Game and others have appeared on the series in the past.
According to Complex, Valenzuela filed the lawsuit on September 6 and listed other allegations like assault, civil theft, false imprisonment, intentional and infliction of emotional distress. In addition to Zdorovetskiy, Pump and Covington, other defendants include VitalyzdTV Inc., Anthony Alvarez, John Does 1 and 2, MYX Yachts LLC, and Easygo Entertainment. Valenzuela is suing for damages over $100,000. As of this report, none of the defendants have commented on the case.