TV Music Show Host Sues Rap Group Over Beating

The host of a weekly rap TV show filed a $22-million lawsuit Thursday against four members of the top-selling rap group “N.W.A,” contending that one rapper severely beat her at a Hollywood nightclub in January and that the others libeled her.

In the Los Angeles Superior Court suit, Denise (Dee) Barnes, who hosts Fox-TV’s “Pump It Up,” accused Andre Young, who is known in the group as Dr. Dre, of assault and battery and emotional distress. N.W.A members Eric Wright (Eazy-E), Lorenzo Patterson (M.C. Ren) and Antoine Carraby (Yella) are accused of libel, slander and emotional distress.

Young, 26, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, already faces one misdemeanor criminal charge related to the incident. Barnes, 23, is also seeking a restraining order against Young. The alleged beating occurred during a private party on Jan. 27 at Po Na Na Souk, a nightclub on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood.