Fashion designer Riccardo Tisci accused of drugging and sexually assaulting New York restaurant-goer
A New York man claims iconic fashion designer Riccardo Tisci drugged his drink while out at an East Harlem restaurant, after which he woke up in the former Givenchy creative director's multimillion-dollar townhouse, naked, without any idea how he got there.
In a state lawsuit filed Tuesday, Patrick Cooper accuses Tisci of sexually assaulting him while he was under the influence and unable to consent, alleging the 50-year-old dosed him with an unknown substance in order to make him 'so disorientated as to no longer know where he was, what he was doing, or what other people, particularly [Tisci], was [sic] doing to him.'
As a result, Cooper, 35, was 'unable to reject, fight, stop or defend himself' from Tisci's 'predatory, sexual, and unlawful assault and battery,' according to his complaint.
He told The Independent that he 'just went out to have a good night. My intentions were never to end up in Riccardo Tisci's bed. When I woke up, he was kissing me.'
Cooper, who describes himself as bisexual, said he headed to the hospital for rape kit testing immediately upon leaving Tisci's luxe SoHo home, then contacted police to make a report.
'I remember sipping the drink, and I don't remember anything else,' Cooper contended. 'To this day, I still don't remember anything. Nothing.'
Reached by phone, Tisci hung up shortly after being informed what the call was regarding. His agent, Anne Nelson of United Talent Agency, told The Independent, 'I regret to inform you that I cannot comment on any matters related to the pending litigation.'
In an email, an NYPD spokesperson declined to confirm or deny details of the case, but said, 'The NYPD takes sexual assault and rape cases extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a police report so we can perform a comprehensive investigation, and offer support and services to survivors.'
A native of Apulia, Italy, Tisci has dressed stars including – among countless others – Beyoncé, Adele, Meryl Streep, Rhianna, Madonna, Cate Blanchett and Kim Kardashian, who wore a Tisci-designed dress for her 2014 wedding to rapper Kanye West. He left Givenchy in 2017, after 12 years, and in 2018 was appointed chief creative officer at Burberry, where he stayed until September 2022.
Further afield, Tisci designed the cover art for Jay-Z and West's 2011 album Watch the Throne, and is now collaborating with Nike on a line of luxury handbags.
'I love romanticism and sensuality, maybe because I come from a family with eight sisters,' Tisci told The New York Times in 2007. 'I'm also a person who is very emotional. I like black, I like white. I never like what's in the middle.'
The alleged assault dates to June 29, 2024, when Cooper met Tisci through a mutual friend, according to his complaint. After spending time at a club downtown, Cooper said he, his friend, Tisci, and another man went to 2 Sisters 4 Brothers, a soul food spot on East 116th Street.
That's where Tisci surreptitiously slipped something into Cooper's drink when he wasn't looking, Cooper's complaint alleges.
Cooper, who said he is 6-foot-1-inch tall and handles his liquor 'very well,' told The Independent that he had only had two or so glasses of wine up until that point and hadn't been feeling drunk at all.
However, the complaint continues, shortly after Cooper finished his drink at 2 Sisters 4 Brothers, he became 'disoriented, confused, impaired, intoxicated, unaware of his actions and surroundings, and unable to comprehend what was going on.'
'[O]nce the drug took effect… [Tisci] brought [Cooper] back to [his] home, where [Tisci] prevented [Cooper] from leaving and sexually assaulted him,' the complaint states. 'When [Cooper] woke up, he found himself naked with [Tisci], (also naked), next to him… Upon information and belief, at the time of the aforesaid sexual assault, [Cooper] lacked the capacity to consent.'
When Cooper came to while at Tisci's swank King Street pad, which he once shared with artist Marina Abramovich, his throat was so dry could barely speak, he told The Independent.
Completely discombobulated, Cooper said he asked Tisci for a glass of water, who walked away unclothed then came back wearing a pair of shorts.
'I was like, 'How did I get here?' I kept saying, 'How did I get here?' I keep asking him how I got there, and he's not responding,' Cooper recalled. 'We go upstairs, my clothes are there, next to the couch.'
Cooper said he left, unsure of where he was, then called the friend he had been with the night before.
'He's upset at me, saying, 'Why would you leave me? I couldn't find you,'' Cooper went on. 'He said he was asking everyone if they knew where I was, so I told him, 'I don't remember last night at all.''
The next day, Cooper said he called Tisci, who insisted he didn't remember him, and asked for a photo.
'I sent the picture, and he goes, 'I still don't remember you,'' Cooper said. 'I told him, 'How do you not remember me? I was at your house.' He goes, 'Oh yeah, I remember you now. Nothing happened.' I said, 'I woke up naked.' He said, 'No, you had clothes on.' And that's when I knew.'
He then decided to retain a lawyer, Cooper said, adding that he 'kind of broke down' in the aftermath of the alleged assault.
'I have not spoken to Riccardo [since], I have not heard from him,' Cooper stated.
Cooper's lawsuit accuses Tisci of assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violations of New York State's Gender-Motivated Violence Act.
He is now seeking compensatory and punitive damages to be determined in court.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Rescued Queens Malinois puppies ready for adoption
Six weeks after dozens of Belgian Malinois pups were rescued from a filthy Queens apartment coated in urine and feces, the young survivors are bouncing back — learning to play, trust and just be dogs. Among them is Lafayette, the youngest of the 48 dogs pulled from the hoarder's home. He was just 3 weeks old, toothless and so weak rescuers feared the worst. 'There was a question mark at one point about whether he would survive,' said Rachel Maso, director of animal behavior at NYC's ASPCA, who assisted in the two-day rescue. Advertisement 5 The puppies showed 'immense resilience and excitement,' a sharp contrast to the terrified adult dogs who struggled to adjust after living in the cramped Queens apartment, Maso said. Helayne Seidman Now, Lafayette and four of the other puppies named after NYC streets — Wooster, Broome, Grand and Rivington — are healthy, playful and finally ready for adoption. The Post was recently given a sneak peak at their progress. Animal welfare officials, alongside the NYPD's Emergency Services Unit, responded to Isaac Yadgarov's seventh-floor Forest Hills apartment on May 8 and found a disturbing scene — dozens of dogs, ranging from 3 weeks to 3 years old, crammed into a foul-smelling, urine- and feces-covered unit, prosecutors said. Advertisement Some were stuffed into closets and cupboards with no access to fresh air or sunlight. Three were in such poor condition they had to be euthanized. 5 Officials discovered nearly 50 Belgian Malinois packed into a small Queens apartment, where urine and feces covered the floor, and some dogs were confined to closets and cupboards. ACC NYC The Belgian Malinois is a smart, agile and loyal breed prized for its trainability. Widely used by police and military, they excel in detection, patrol and protection roles and can grow to be 80 pounds. Of the 48 dogs rescued, 14 of the youngest and most medically vulnerable were taken by the ASPCA. The remaining 31 were transferred to the Animal Care Center in Queens and other partner rescue groups for evaluation and care — and have all since been placed. Advertisement 'You could smell the apartment in the hallway,' Maso, 39, said. 'They had extensive fecal soiling, and . . . you could guess that they didn't have food, water, ventilation.' 5 Rivington, once wary and protective of his food, has learned to share and play thanks to weeks of care and socialization at the ASPCA's Manhattan center. Helayne Seidman While many of the older dogs came out terrified of humans and unable to walk on leashes, Maso said the puppies showed something else: joy. 'What we saw in the puppies was an immense amount of resilience and excitement and wanting to interact with people,' she said. Advertisement Rivington, slightly older and from a different litter, initially was hesitant and refused to let other puppies near his food bowl — a sign he may have had to compete for meals in the overcrowded apartment, Maso said. 5 Lafayette, the tiniest survivor of the Queens hoarding nightmare, was just weeks old and fighting for his life when rescued. Now, he's bouncing around like any happy, healthy pup. Helayne Seidman 'It's very obvious the conditions of the apartment and the way they were kept impacted their ability to function outside in the world,' she said. After weeks of socialization, medical care and puppy-safe training, however, Rivington and the other pups have grown, healed and learned to trust, Maso said. Five are now 'thriving' and officially up for adoption at the ASPCA's Manhattan facility, while the other nine have already been adopted. 5 Following weeks of medical treatment and socialization, five Belgian Malinois puppies rescued from the apartment are now healthy, thriving and waiting for new homes at the ASPCA in Manhattan. Helayne Seidman Yadgarov, 37, faces 96 charges — two for each dog — including animal torture and failure to provide proper care, and could face up to a year behind bars. He was released on his own recognizance on June 2, and the case remains under investigation.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man, 54, dies after running away from cops in Riverside Park: police sources
A 54-year-old man died of an apparent heart attack after he tried to run away from police inside Manhattan's Riverside Park, police sources said Saturday. Cops patrolling through the park found the man drinking an open container of alcohol by W. 137th St. and Riverside Drive at about 10:05 p.m. on Thursday. When the man couldn't provide police with any identification, the officers took him into custody, a police source with knowledge of the case said. They were escorting him from the park when he bolted away from them. The cops chased after him and tackled him to the ground, the police source said. A few moments later, the man claimed he was having trouble breathing. EMS rushed the man to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, where he died following some kind of cardiac episode, officials said. His name was not immediately disclosed as cops track down family members. The tackle was a standard NYPD takedown and not overly aggressive, the police source said. An autopsy has been slated to determine exactly how the man died. Since he was in custody, detectives of the NYPD's Force Investigation Division is reviewing the case. None of the officers involved have been disciplined or removed from patrol as the investigation continues, officials said.
New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
Brooklyn businessman busted for selling ‘dangerous' fireworks: Officials
The FDNY busted a Brooklyn business owner for running an illegal fireworks operation out of a Flatbush warehouse this week, confiscating $250,000 worth of dangerous explosives just before Independence Day, officials said. Lisen Pan, who runs Everbright Trading Co., was arrested Tuesday for allegedly selling fireworks labeled as 'Morning Glory,' 'Tomahawk,' 'Roman Candles,' 'Something Special,' '49 Shots,' 'Brooklyn Fireworks,' 'Short Circuit' and 'Tec-9,' according to a Brooklyn District Attorneys Office criminal complaint. 5 The FDNY investigated the Brooklyn business after being tipped off to illegal fireworks by another law enforcement agency. Stefano Giovannini FDNY investigators began looking into the warehouse after Suffolk County cops alerted them that they arrested a man who told them he bought illegal fireworks at the business, officials said. 'There were many different styles — products that could cause fires here in New York City due to our tightly cramped nature,' FDNY Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn said. 'They land on roofs sometimes and they cause fires over the Fourth of July season.' 5 FDNY investators made repeated visits to the business and saw that it was selling explosives. Stefano Giovannini 5 The business owner was arrested and charged in Brooklyn. Stefano Giovannini 5 The fireworks had inventive names like 'Something Special.' Stefano Giovannini 5 The fireworks were taken to the NYPD's firing range in Rodman's Neck and destroyed. Stefano Giovannini The fireworks were hauled away in a FDNY hazmat unit truck to be destroyed at the NYPD firing range in Rodman's Neck in the Bronx, Flynn said. Pan, of Queens, was charged with weapons possession, reckless endangerment and unlawful sale of fireworks, authorities said.
