LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The Dedrek Finley v Rosario Dawson case has garnered widespread media attention.
According to numerous reports, Finley, a transgender man has known the Dawson family for a very long time and is the one who sued the 44-year-old actress on grounds of anti-trans employment discrimination.
The case, which wrapped up in the US legal system, has piqued people's interest in finding out where Dedrek Finley is currently.
According to Finley's own testimony in his case, he had known the Dawsons for about 20 years.
Finley said to Out magazine that when he relocated to California from New York a few years ago, Dawson and her family provided him with a place to live, a well-paying job, and money to assist with the transfer.
The actress even reportedly gave him money directly. Finley, who the family previously thought was a lesbian, informed them about his transition around that time.
Out claims that after an initially positive start to his time in Los Angeles, things deteriorated into a string of clashes that culminated in a lawsuit and accusations of discrimination and assault.
Finley described the breakdown of his relationship with the Dawson family, which he alleges resulted in a fight between Dawson and her mother, Isabel.
The lawsuit came to a close in 2021 and since then, not much is known about Finley's whereabouts.
The case of Dedrek Finley v Rosario Dawson
According to a lawsuit submitted in a Los Angeles court, the transgender man claimed that actor Rosario Dawson and her family exposed him to transphobic harassment and violent abuse, as per a report by Page Six in 2019.
As soon as Finley came out as transgender, "the family misgendered him multiple times each day, with deliberate indifference as to the appropriate way to address [him]," the lawsuit alleges.
Rosario Dawson "acted with deliberate indifference and did nothing to correct the situation." Despite the fact that Finley had come out to the family as transgender, Rosario would react to his complaints by saying, "You're a grown woman," according to the report.
The lawsuit said that Finley was asked to leave his home in February 2018, just a few months after coming out, but he refused to do so because there was no justification for the eviction.
The family allegedly conspired to assault Finley on April 28, 2018. The trans man was allegedly attacked by Rosario's mother, Isabel Dawson, who pulled him out of a window by his arm.
"Once Mr. Finley was lying helpless on the ground outside, Isabel, who is substantially larger than Mr Finley, got on top of Mr Finley’s body and began punching him," the lawsuit reads.
"While beating Mr Finley, Isabel screamed, ‘You’re not so much of a man now,’ which was a clear and denigrating reference to Mr. Finley’s gender identity."
According to the lawsuit, Rosario Dawson helped facilitate the assault by putting her weight on top of him and "actively restraining him while he was on the ground to ensure that her mother could continue battering him," as reported by NBC.
According to the lawsuit, Finley was given a temporary restraining order against Isabel Dawson a day after the alleged assault.
What led Dedrek Finley and Rosario Dawson to fall out?
Finley and one of his attorneys discussed their dispute with the Dawsons as a part of a bigger fight for trans equality and rights in an interview with Out magazine.
"I always hoped there would be some reconciliation, but when it goes physical, that’s it. You have to take a stand for yourself…not only for myself but for the community," Finley stated.
An attorney for Finley, Tasha Alyssa Hill, said that the complaint asserts that Finley's treatment by the Dawson family was motivated by his gender identification, per Page Six.
"Mr Finley had a good relationship with the family, did work with them in New York and had a good enough relationship that they invited him to California and offered him a living situation and a full time working situation for the family," Hill said.
"When they did that, they knew him as a lesbian woman." "When he came out to California and decided to come out to them as a transgender man, that’s when things started going south," the rep added.
What happened to Dedrek Finley v Rosario Dawson?
Dedrek Finley sued Rosario Dawson and her family in October 2019 on grounds of mistreatment and discrimination, including physical assault and anti-trans insults such as deliberate misgendering.
Finley's voluntary plea to drop all but two of his claims was approved by the court last October, and his attorney withdrew from the case.
Finley wished to pursue two claims connected to a purported physical altercation. In order to move forward on those, the court required him to provide additional evidence.
According to records obtained from the Los Angeles Superior Court, a judge dismissed the last remaining claims on May 21, 2021, after Finley failed to comply with repeated court orders to provide supporting evidence, responses to inquiries, and an independent medical examination to support his claims of physical and mental harm.
A complete dismissal brought the case to a calm conclusion in 2021, as per Vanity Fair. After hundreds of pages of motions, the decision was reduced to three pages.
How did the 'Ahsoka' star react?
The actress claimed that the lawsuit collapsed because it was untrue in a new statement from Dawson's representative. "My family is pleased that this baseless suit is over."
She added, "While the vast majority of the false claims had been voluntarily withdrawn last year—including every single false claim of discrimination—today the court terminated the remainder of the case allowing us all to move forward."
What did Dedrek Finley say about Rosario Dawson and reconciliation?
In a lengthy statement obtained by VF, Finley said that the case is "symbolic not only to the trans community but to marginalized people everywhere, everyone who has tried to stand and speak truth to power and be heard only to be shut down by money and power."
He added that he was very "moved by how much it mattered to the trans community that a brother was treated so awfully. We will not stand for our people being beaten and having their voice taken and using the courts and justice system in their favor."
According to Finley, there is no chance of reconciliation with Dawson or her family.
After the decision, Finley asserted that the medical exam was never rescheduled because he missed it due to COVID-19 illness and it was never rescheduled as Finley "requested it be rescheduled" but the court "chose not to."
