New York based D’ussé Palooza a traveling hip-hop-themed concert/party has announced it has cut ties with a staff member who is presumed to be Chris “Stylezz” Samuels.
After further consideration, we have decided to sever ties with the staff member who was initially put under internal investigation. Effective immediately, said staff member is no longer a part of the Palooza team and will not host any of our events going forward.
— Dusse Palooza (@DussePalooza) April 28, 2020
On Tuesday (April 27, 2020) the company initially announced (above) it had put the employee on indefinite leave and then followed up with a press release today stating it had severed ties. According to the press release, “We have decided to sever ties with the staff member who was initially put under internal investigation. Effective immediately, said staff member is no longer a part of the Palooza team and will not host any of our events going forward.”
D’ussé Palooza was founded in 2012 by now CEO Kameron McCullough and COO Benner Hall under the name Henny Palooza. Three years ago it underwent a name change after inking a deal with Roc Nation and D’ussé Cognac, both of which are owned by Jay-Z.
The company was presumable responding to a rash of statements on Twitter account @predatorsanon which aggregated 26 mostly-anonymous messages and screen caps from women who recalled incidents in which they claimed Stylezz exposed himself, used aggressive behavior and language in an attempt to coerce them into having sex with him and in many cases became enraged when they refused.
Imma only speak on my story ONE TIME.
— Chey the Shooter 📸 (@CheyMillz) April 27, 2020
And i don’t give a FUCK what y’all got to say about it: pic.twitter.com/TLDctOYJlv
Screw em both girl, I had a nasty interaction with Chris too and he threw a tantrum and left me in his car in Brooklyn because he took his dick out and I rebuffed . I’m Happy women are sharing their experiences 💜
— Brick Flair®️🌫 (@Goodworkriah) April 28, 2020
In several cases, the tweets aggregated by @predatorsanon had been pulled from individuals (above) whose accounts included their identities.
We reached out to @predatorsanon earlier this evening for further details, but as of now haven’t heard back. The person running the account went on Instagram Live this evening at 11:00 PM EST and alleged Stylezz paid for her to travel by bus to Boston to attend a D’ussé Palooza event on September 6, 2019. Afterwards, she went to his hotel room and said he “blacked out” and told her to leave when she refused to have sex with him.
While most of the accounts weren’t dated, the earliest incident with timing took place in 2010 at Old Westbury College in Long Island where the alleged victim attended school with Stylezz. One alleged victim, who said she had an encounter with him last year, said he grew hostile and verbally abusive when she turned down his invitation to come to his home.
On Instagram, Stylezz initially pushed back on the accusations with a statement (above) that read, “The accusations that have come forth about me today are preposterous and completely erroneous. Myself just as a lot of other men are persistent when trying to court women.”
Stylez then followed up with an apologetic statement (above) seemingly acknowledging the accusations. “I want to begin by extending my sincerest apologies to those I have hurt through my actions,” he wrote, adding, “I’ve been inappropriate in may of my interactions with women. Coercion is in no way acceptable and I am truly ashamed to have done this to women.”
Earlier today Stylez said he would go on Instagram Live at 8:00 PM EST to explain his case. On live, he started by stating, “I’ve been advised not to do this, not to go on live.” Stylezz described himself as an asshole but seemingly walked back his apology when he stated, “I have never threatened someone. That has never happened.” Later he added, “I can apologize for not taking their feelings into account.”
While Stylezz conceded his behavior wasn’t appropriate, he repeatedly insisted he never raped anyone. “If I have ever raped anyone, bring me to justice,” he said, adding, “If I raped you, tell the police. Bring me to justice.”
Check out portions of his Instagram Live session below.
Lmao so his PR wrote his apology via iPhone notes, made them used words that he don’t know the definition of and posted it 😂🤨#makeitmakesense pic.twitter.com/ERdTj9fGjw
— Kadesha (@DeshaDiorr) April 29, 2020
You wanna see a dead body? https://t.co/FxKwTXL5TO pic.twitter.com/W2mX57aOky
— Dom V Harris (@DomVHarris) April 29, 2020
