New SHAKEUP in Clavicular's Shocking Sex Abuse Case

Did online look smacker Clavvicular. score a big win in his ongoing legal. saga? Why his accuser is now removing a. huge claim from her lawsuit about his. alleged sexual misconduct? And what is. this going to mean for his criminal rape. case out in Massachusetts? We're going. to break down all these developments. with celebrity trial attorney Ben Chu. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and. Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. The legal drama is continuing in the.

world of Braden Peters, also known as. the famous online looks maxer clvicular. But as someone who promotes looking. their best, he hasn't, you know, been. looking too hot in the news cycle these. days. And even though these are just. allegations, it's not the kind of news. you want. Just last month, we brought. you the bombshell criminal charges that. he now faces out in Massachusetts, including rape, drugging someone for. sexual intercourse, providing alcohol to. someone under the age of 21. And these. are allegations, right? He's innocent. unless proven guilty. But these charges.

originally stemmed from a lawsuit that. was filed months earlier by the alleged. victim, a woman by the name of Alexandra. Vasalevna Mendoza, who claimed she was a. minor when all of this went down. But. now does it appear that the looks maxer. scored a win with the same lawsuit or is. this strategy? Was this a strategic move. on the part of the plaintiff? I'm going. to ask this because one of the most. damaging claims has now been dropped. from the lawsuit in a shocking move this.

week. And this latest legal filing also. kind of gives us new alleged details. about Peter's purported misconduct in. other instances with Mendoza. But if. you're new to this saga, you don't know. what's going on, here's the gist. Well, there are two incidents at play in this. lawsuit or were in this lawsuit, but. only one of them is connected to his. criminal charges. So, that incident. allegedly took place on May 23rd, 2025. at Peter's family home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. And according to the. criminal complaint from the Chattam.

Police Department, Mendoza apparently. approached officers at the station. alongside her attorney to report being. quote raped and then gave a formal. interview. During the interview, Mendoza. reportedly said that Peters had ordered. her an Uber to his home after roughly a. week of talking on social media, eventually being paid to do looks maxing. videos. And while they were at his home, he allegedly began running a Twitch. stream in his bedroom and had asked. Mendoza to lie about her age and say she. was 18. She had told police she was just.

17 at the time of their hangout. Mendoza. then claims that Peters gave her enough. alcohol that she was quote really drunk. and that they had sex after the stream. was over. But at some point the. following morning, she claimed she woke. up to him having sex with her without. her consent. From the affidavit, quote, based on Mendoza's level of. intoxication, which was brought about by. Mr. Peters furnishing alcohol to her for. the purpose of engaging in sexual.

intercourse as she was a minor under the. age of 21 years old. I believe that she. lacked the ability to consent. For that. reason, I believe that probable cause. exists to support the following charges. against Braden Peters. Rape, drugging. someone for sexual intercourse, and. providing alcohol to someone under the. age of 21. Now, we're going to get into. where Peter's criminal case stands in a. little bit, but this same incident was. originally detailed in Mendoza's lawsuit. that was filed in April of this year. Now, there's a caveat here. According to.

an attorney for Peters, the sexual. battery claim wasn't included in. Mendoza's April filing, and that it was. later added when she amended it in June. And here's what the June lawsuit says. about sexual battery. Quote, "Peter then. had sex with Mendoza while she was. knowingly intoxicated to the point where. she was unable to give consent. That. morning, while Mendoza was asleep, she. woke up with Peters penetrating her and. having sex with her again without her. consent." The plaintiff reasserts the.

allegation set forth in paragraphs 1. through 21 as set forth above. Peters. intentionally had sexual intercourse. with Mendoza while she was intoxicated. Because of Mendoza's intoxication, she. was not able to give consent due to her. incapacitation. Under Massachusetts law, these acts constitute battery. As a. direct and proximate result of Peter's. battery, Mendoza suffered physical, emotional, and psychological damages. Now, this alleged incident, this sexual. battery claim, this is important to the.

latest development that happened this. week. But I want you to keep in mind, there was a second alleged incident. connected to the lawsuit as well. And. this allegedly occurred six months later. in November of 2025 out in Miami. According to the lawsuit, this is when. Peters allegedly attempted to kiss and. seduce Mendoza, which she rejected. And. then Peters allegedly began a live. stream on the kick platform where he. apparently told Mendoza he wanted to. inject her cheeks with Aqualix, a. non-FDA approved fat dissolver. And.

according to Mendoza, Peters claimed he. was qualified to give the injection. despite not having medical authority. nor did Mendoza provide legal consent to. receive it. That's her argument. And. despite this, Mendoza claims that Peters. injected her in both cheeks, but it was. her right cheek that ended up. perforated. And Peters also allegedly. stated or suggested that methamphetamine. had been added to the injection mixture. The lawsuit claims that Peters and. Mendoza saw each other a handful of. other times, including instances where.

Peters paid to let her into bars, bought. drinks for her despite her being. underage, all under the guise that he. was helping her career. And meanwhile, the following year in 2026, Mendoza. claims that Peters had begun campaigning. to discredit her reputation and what she. said was an attempt to get ahead of his. misconduct through their relationship. Okay, real quick. As you're watching. this, if you're into content creation, if you're putting things out on social. media, have you ever wondered how we're. able to stay on top of sharing so many. clips of all these stories, all these. cases so quickly? Well, we use something.

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powerful tool to edit like a. professional. Go to opus.pro/sidebar. to get a free week, then 50% off for the. next three months. That is. opus.pro/sidebar. So now, Clvicular had a lot to say when. the criminal charges went public, including digital receipts, mostly. taking aim at Mendoza's lawsuit. Here's. just a few examples. Quote, trying to. get my attention in any way possible. A. lawsuit, seriously, really petty of you.

He also posted a letter that was. allegedly written by Mendoza to him, reading in part, quote, just know. Braden, you have my loyalty 100%. I. admire the man you are and secretly the. values you had about women should be in. the kitchen. Lol. I'm also really. thankful for you helping me as much as. you have been providing some income for. me and a place because genuinely I've. always wanted a stable place and you're. providing that. He even included a text. message thread allegedly between Peters. and Mendoza with the following back and.

forth seemingly from Mendoza. Hey Clav, how are you? Cleavicular seems to. respond good. Then she allegedly texts. him again roughly 6 hours later. I want. you, NGL. I'm tired of being like. independent. I mean, I like it, but I. just need a man to relax with. We could. keep everything private, too, like no. social media. And it appears that. Clvicular writes back, "I've been pretty. busy." Mendoza seems to respond back, "Yeah, I get that. When you get more. settled, let me know." Then she. allegedly sends another text on January.

7th. So, with a year not specified, "Can. you help me set up kick?" He also. included a short clip appearing to be. Mendoza discussing the kick stream. involving that alleged botched. injection. >> And what else? Not dating Clav. Just did a little stream together where. he injected Aqualix. It was really fun. Super nice. Send me an Uber home right. after. Then you have this email to NPR. where a representative for Peters, Mitchell Jackson, also reportedly wrote,

quote, she files a lawsuit and doesn't. include sexual assault as account. Then. she amends it and adds it a couple of. months later. Clvicular then filed a. motion to dismiss fighting the civil. lawsuit because letter text messages. show she knew what was happening with. the injections and he refused to pay. money. She and her lawyer then go to. police. I say all of that to bring to. what's happening now. We want you to. fast forward to October 8th and another. amended complaint is filed in Miami Dade. circuit court civil case. Okay. Here is.

where we learn some new alleged details. about the Miami incident from November. of 2025, including screenshots allegedly. from the kick live stream where Peters. appears to be prepping Mendoza for the. injection. And the lawsuit also details. comments allegedly made during the live. stream, including quote, "Bro, kick the. minor off. Quote, "If she's 17, you. could be banned." Here's another. interesting claim. Quote, before he. injected Mendoza, the defendant reading.

the comments appearing on the streaming. session says, "She's still a minor, you. pedo bleep." He then responds, "I'm. effing 19 years old. Are you guys. actually that bleep? 17 and 19. Society. is actually cooked. If you think that is. bad, he then proceeded to inject the. plainif. That's the quote there. Now, the amended complaint also alleges that. after the first injection, Mendoza. appeared drugged on camera that she. believed she was injected with meth or. another disclosed substance which Peters.

allegedly suggested was added to the. mixture. This is according to the June. filing. But I have to make something. clear, okay? that no criminal charges. have been filed against Clvicular in. connection to the injection to the. alleged injection to this November 2025. incident. But some pretty shocking. allegations to say the least, right? But. the even more shocking development in. this new filing full circle what I'm. talking about from the beginning, Mendoza's claims of sexual battery, what.

I mentioned before, those claims of. sexual assault against Peters, they are. removed. They are removed now from the. lawsuit. And this is of course what I'm. talking about with the criminal case to. the May 2025 incident in Cape Cod. Those. sexual misconduct allegations are now. not part of the lawsuit. And when you. look at this version of the filing, here's how it describes what happened. after Peters allegedly began giving an. underage Mendoza alcohol on his Twitch. live stream. Quote, "Peter had sex with. Mendoza multiple times while she was.

intoxicated." Consistent with his, and. there's a derogatory term here, sexually. derogatory bragging. The next morning, Peter sent Mendoza off in an Uber. She. did not see him again for another six. months. Now, some things are missing. there. Some things are missing there. from her original account, right? So, why has this been taken out? That's what. I want to talk about. And I will add. that Peter's allegedly sexually. derogatory rhetoric claims were also. included in the June filing, but.

anything about Mendoza not being able to. give consent during sexual intercourse. is no longer in the lawsuit, including. when she was allegedly sleeping the. following morning. So, what's the. reason? What is the reason for removing. these allegations? Well, here is what. Mendoza's lawyer, Drew Moss, told NBC. Quote, "In light of Mr. Peter's recent. posts and other conduct, this matter is. more appropriate for the criminal. justice system. And according to Moss, the sexual assault claim was dropped, quote, due to the pending criminal. charges in Massachusetts. Mrs. Mendoza.

does not want her civil case to. interfere with that process. Now, keep. in mind, Mendoza's amended civil. complaint still accuses Peters of. battery and intentional infliction of. emotional distress, fraudulent. misrepresentation, fraudulent. concealment, unauthorized publication of. name and likeness. So, there's still a. lot in there to hash out in civil court, but not about the sexual assault. allegation. And while that's going on, the criminal case, Peter's Massachusetts. criminal case, that is continuing. He. was actually set to appear for an.

arraignment today in New Orleans. District Court, but a case docket update. shows that that hearing was continued. and it's been rescheduled to October. 22nd at 8:30 a.m. So, got a lot to talk. about as we wait for this to unfold. Okay, so I have the perfect guest to. talk about this. Somebody who knows what. high-profile cases are like representing. celebrities. And this is an interesting. mix between the civil arena and the. criminal arena. I want to bring in our. friend of the show, friend of mine, uh, civil litigator, uh, Ben Shu. Ben, thank.

you so much for coming on. Really. appreciate it. For anybody who doesn't. know, I mean, they should know, Ben. famously represented Johnny Depp in his. trial against um, Amber Heard. I really. appreciate you taking the time to talk. about this. So, this is an interesting. development. I'm curious why uh Miss. Mendoza and her legal team decided to do. this in the case against Clavicular, dropped the sexual assault allegations, refile the complaint, seemingly focusing. now on the injection or the alleged. injection incident because of how it may.

affect the pending Massachusetts. criminal case. And just so everybody. knows, um, her lawyer, Drew Moss, said. in a statement, quote, "In light of Miss. Peter, Mr. Peter's recent posts and. other conduct, this matter is more. appropriate for the criminal justice. system. Um, and that Miss Mendoza does. not want her civil case to interfere. with that process." What does that mean? >> Well, as Alice would say, this case gets. curiouser and curiouser. I don't really.

take that statement at face value. there's no reason to amend that. complaint just because of the pendency. of the criminal action. Uh it's it's. true that the pendency of the criminal. case as you know can affect the civil. action because the defendant has uh. fifth amendment rights uh but it doesn't. require amendment. So I think there's. something else going on here. What what.

do you think that something else could. be going on here is? Well, the the. substance of the allegations have. changed and I think that's something. Clavvicular can take advantage of both. in the criminal case and the civil case. because as I understand it and I think. you probably parsed the uh second. amended complaint more carefully than. I've had time to so far, but I think. there's a substantive change in the.

allegations between. uh he had sex with me while I was. unconscious. Uh, and and now it's he had sex with me. while I was under the influence. Those. are two very very different things and I. think that will be exploited by by his. lawyers. >> So, so I want to explore this a little. bit. Um, generally speaking, if you have. a civil case with the same allegations. that mirror criminal charges, how.

potentially could a civil case get. complicated? Let's just start there. If. we're if we're just taking this as true. that there is a concern that it could. somehow be affected or interfere with or. get complicated whether it's witness. testimony or evidence just if you can. give me some examples potentially how it. could be problematic for a civil lawyer. for a civil case because of pending. criminal charges. Can you just give me. some examples? >> Well, here here's one. So if you're the. plaintiff's lawyer in the civil case, as. you know, you'll want to take.

Clavvicular's de deposition and as you. know, uh the scope of that is incredibly. broad, you know, reasonably calculated. to lead to the discovery of admissible. evidence, which means you can ask. everything under the sun. But while that. criminal case is pending, as you know, he still has the right to take the. fifth. So it would be perfectly. appropriate for him to say, "I'm taking. the fifth uh while I'm under this. criminal potential of criminal.

jeopardy." So what often happens in. these cases, as you know, is that the. defendant will seek or even the. plaintiff may seek a stay of the civil. action pending resolution of the. criminal case because after the criminal. case, there's no longer the issue of. jeopardy. So rather than amending the. complaint, what what might have happened. normally in this case was just to stay. it or continue with discovery but just. stay clvicular's.

deposition until after the criminal. trial. >> And to be clear, whether he is acquitted. or whether he is found guilty at a. criminal case, they could still go. forward, they could refile this case or. if there was a stay and they didn't. dismiss it, they could have still gone. forward with the sexual assault. allegations in a civil case. Right. Absolutely. And as you know and your. viewers know that this the standard is. quite more lenient obviously in a civil. case which is why we've seen so many. cases you know in the OJ Simpson case.

and and many others where there's been. an acquitt in the criminal case and yet. a jury has come back and found liability. in the civil case which with a much more. uh lenient standard preponderance of the. evidence or clear and convincing as. opposed to beyond a reasonable doubt. Now again these are all allegations both. in the criminal uh case and also in the. civil context. However is one thing to. consider when you say something else. might be going on here when you look at. the allegations about the reported uh.

injection incident and in this new. complaint screenshots messages this idea. you know potential evidence about you. know the actual injection or how old he. thought she was. Do you think that this. could be a case where they think those. allegations are strong with respect to. the alleged injection? But there could. be questions about the alleged sexual. assault. And their concern is that if.

there is a weakness in one part of the. case, that could sabotage the rest of. the case. So, let's separate it for now. Let's take those allegations out. let's. go forward um and you know then later on. decide what to do about the sexual. assault allegations. >> Jesse, I think that's such such a great. point. I think that's exactly what they. have tried to do. I I think I think it's. problematic though because this will all. be she's going to be subject to a. withering cross-examination on why the.

allegations changed. And that's why you. tell your clients and and again she may. completely be telling the truth, but. that's why you want to get it right the. first time. So I think it's a problem. for I think it's going to be a problem. for her. Well, look, you know, this is. the point that I I'm a little confused. by if she Okay, let let's put it this. way. As far as I can tell, the criminal. case is not really so much about the. injection alleged incident, right? So.

theoretically, her civil case could. happen maybe before a criminal case, right? If that's the situation, she would testify, but would she just if. she takes the stand in the civil case, would she not in any way testify about. this other alleged sexual assault? I. mean, would that not be part of her. testimony, whether on direct or. cross-examination? Um, I imagine she. would have to testify in a criminal.

case. And so that's what I'm trying to. understand. Like, is it possible this. case will happen before now, before a. criminal case? I mean, wouldn't she. would she not be questioned at all about. the alleged sexual assault allegations? That's the part that's confusing to me. because then otherwise she'd have to. testify three times, right, in this. civil case, the criminal case, and then. if she decides to bring uh, you know, another case about sexual assault. allegations, that would be a third time. unless she just pauses the whole. litigation or wait. I don't know. >> Yeah, Jesse, I I agree. I I think I.

think she's she's at peril because if. I'm his lawyer, I definitely want to. cross-examine her about the sexual. allegations and I want to examine her as. often as I can. probing for discrepancies in each. account. So, I I think there's real. peril for her here. And I could I could. see a settlement arising out of this. either before or after the criminal. case. I think the criminal case might if. it goes first might really clarify.

what's going to happen later in the. civil case. >> How does that affect it? So whether So, it's interesting, right? Like if she. takes the stand in a criminal case, she. would be questioned about the civil. case, right? you have something to gain. You're going after my client civily, even though there's again Well, that's. interesting, too, now that I'm thinking. about it. I'm thinking about this, right? If it was the same allegations in. the criminal case and the civil case, she could be questioned. You're suing my. client for this very set of allegations, right? You have something to gain. But. if she now drops those sexual assault.

allegations and she's talking purely. about the alleged injection incident, can they question her about her civil. suit? I mean, a jury would be like, "Wait a minute, that's completely. separate.". >> Yeah. No, it it's it's these things are. going to be u argued before the trial. judge, and the the trial judge is going. to have some very interesting. decisions to make, and there are going. to be some very interesting tactical. decisions that the prosecutor and the.

defense council are going to have to. make. And obviously what's what's. paramount for a clvicular. is the criminal. Um and that that has to. take precedence over the civil because. here's his his liberty is at stake. And. of course if his liberty is is. compromised and he goes to prison then. you know the the civil case is kind of. out the window anyway. I mean in terms. of importance to him because he won't. have a way to make a living. So.

>> you you mentioned something really key. though, the settlement. If there was a. settlement between him and her before a. criminal case, I'd have to imagine his. lawyers would say this has to be a. global settlement for all your claims, including these alleged sexual assault. allegations. If that's the case, can she. testify against him in a criminal case? Well, that's I I have faced this myself. and it's a dicey situation uh because. technically.

uh the prosecutors can proceed and force. her to testify and then if she doesn't. cooperate, I mean theoretically, you. know, you have an issue of perjury. But. I think as a practical matter and as. we've seen in so many cases when there. is a settlement before the criminal. trial the criminal trial ends up going. away either it's dismissed or it is. resolved because I think the prosecution. as a practical matter.

realizes that if their witness Mendoza. in this case lacks the uh incentive. to bear her soul and to give the kind of. testimony required to convince a jury. beyond a reasonable doubt, they're not. going to win. So, as a practical matter, even though technically they can. proceed, I think I think the case the. criminal case goes away. And if I'm and. if I'm his lawyer, I want to get an. exit. I want to get an exit ramp on this.

thing because this is not none of this. is good for him obviously in terms of. his brand and reputation. and you still. have um you know, even with the battery. charge, you know, that's that's a fairly. serious uh matter as well. So, I think. you want to make this go away somehow. >> Do you think that her attorney is going. to try to file a motion with the court. to pause this civil case before the. criminal case, even if it's now not.

including the sexual assault. allegations, because of some of the. concerns that we have just raised? >> Yeah, I think one or one or the other. and and the other side may agree. Uh and. this there has to be some level of. dialogue now between the two camps. because. um I I mean I think he's got some real. exposure here and she does too. Uh it. really would seem to cry out for a. settlement. As much as you and I both.

love trials, I think this sounds like a. case that, you know, the the stakes are. very, very high on both sides here, and. they're both very young. They've got. their lives ahead of them, and they will. be seriously impacted by an adverse. ruling in either the criminal or the. civil case. >> Talk to me about how strong you think. her amended civil complaint is. So it. accuses him of battery, intentional. infliction of emotional distress, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, unauthorized. publication of name and likeness. It.

includes apparently more details in this. amended uh complaint. Um they uh also. apparently includes uh screenshots as I. mentioned of live stream viewers. comments where there seemed to be an. allegation that Clevicular was told or. warned how old Mendoza was. Um and uh. that he allegedly responded to comments. about her age and also that you can. allegedly see the injection happening on.

the live stream. So, how strong do you. think those individual claims are for. Miss Mendoza? >> You know, it it's it's tricky and and. and. this is a case where the quality of the. lawyering and the quality of of the of. the witness testimony can make all the. difference because I could see if you're. representing clavicular to say, "Yes, she was young, but so is he." This is.

not a case of some 40-year-old man. exploiting an 18-year-old girl. It's. it's a case of two young people. Was he. older? Yes. Was he technically an adult? Yes. But I think it I think it might. strike a jury as somewhat different if. the age disparity were were greater. I'm. not excusing what he is alleged to have. been doing. I'm just saying I think that. their openings for his council to say. look both of these people were in the.

same line of work. They both were. self-promoters. They both were influencers. They both. were using each other. And so when. you're talking about injections, which is arguably a beautifying or looks. maxing rather than the rape, I I mean I. think I think you've I I think it may. not be that strong a case depending on. how well it's lawyered. >> Yeah. And look, he's a public figure. who's now taken, you know, to social.

media to kind of respond in his own way. He's got a big following. I also wonder. if that puts pressure on her in any way. to be the, you know, the main. complaintant in a criminal case or also. to testify in a in a trial. >> Yeah, I I do I think she's got a lot of. downside here. And while the, you know, you're not going to get a win-win uh. result from this, I mean, I think he. could craft a settlement that would have.

some payment now and some payments over. time, maybe tied to his success or. relative success going forward. So to. give her an upside and give her an. incentive, you know, not to not to make. these allegations. I don't know. I'm. It's not my job to be there. >> Yeah. Yeah. Look, and look, look at the. truth is is like she, you know, she. believes that she she believes and her. attorney believes they have enough. evidence to proceed toward a case or. believe there's enough there uh. potentially there. And then also, you.

know, um authorities believe the. government believes that there's. sufficient evidence to move forward with. criminal charges. Ben Shu, thank you so. much. Really, really appreciate. I would. love to have you back on to see however. these cases progress. Uh but always. appreciate you, sir. >> Thanks so much, Desessie. anytime. >> That's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time.