The Former Head of Cox/Apollo is Sued for Defamation and Gender-Based Violence

Billionaire investor Leon Black was sued on Tuesday by a woman who alleges the private equity bigwig forced her into twisted sex acts and said he’d have her thrown in jail for publicly uncovering his violent and “sadistic side.”

Güzel Ganieva says Black, the former CEO of Apollo Global Management who runs the Cox stations, used his influence to bully her into silence after a years-long affair built on coercive manipulation and violent abuse, according to the lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

“This case is the epitome of why #MeToo exists.  In textbook fashion, men with wealth, power and an army of elite lawyers continue to escape accountability for their heinous acts by twisting the legal system to penalize their victims for speaking up.  Sadly, until prosecutors consistently go after sexual predators that wrongly accuse sexual assault victims of extortion, it is clear that #MeToo has many miles to go,” said Ganieva’s attorney Jeanne Christensen in a statement to FTVLive.

In speaking with Bloomberg back in April, Black characterized their relationship as “a consensual affair” and claimed she had been trying to extort him since it ended seven years ago.

Black also said during the interview that he made payments to Ganieva in an attempt to spare his family from public embarrassment.

Black stepped down from the private equity giant he co-founded in 1990 within days of the allegations surfacing, but he denied his decision was related.

H/T NY Daily News