Another woman has accused Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel of sexual assault. The woman known to fans of the show as “Nanny Dawn” claims that Ravenel kissed her repeatedly and without permission in January 2015 — while Ravenel’s then-infant daughter Kensington slept nearby, preventing Dawn from crying out.
The allegations came just over a week after details of Ravenel’s $200,000 settlement with Debbie Holloway Perkins became public. Debbie and her daughter Ashley have accused Ravenel, 55, of a much more violent sexual assault against Debbie after the two hooked up via Tinder, again in 2015.
A third woman comes forward with Thomas Ravenel sexual assault claims
According to Nanny Dawn, Ravenel’s assault came while she was working in the kitchen “just before midnight” one night. She says that Ravenel turned off the kitchen light before approaching her, leaving Dawn off-guard and vulnerable.
From Dawn’s account:
“I put Kensie to bed, and headed to the kitchen to make fresh baby food and wash and sterilize bottles,” she said. “That was when I heard Thomas enter the house just before midnight.”
Dawn said Thomas turned off the lights and when she called out to let him know she was working in the kitchen and needed light, he came into the kitchen and tried to kiss her. Despite Dawn rebuffing his advances and repeatedly telling him “no,” it did not stop the alleged assault.
“I didn’t want to scream and scare Kensie, but I told him no repeatedly,” she said.
Dawn further added that she told Ravenel’s ex-girlfriend Kathryn Dennis about the incident once Kathryn “had begun to notice the strained relationship” between the two. After Dennis confronted Ravenel, though things between he and Dawn only got worse: according to Dawn, Ravenel began to regularly “butt-dial” her and “purposely allow her to hear him telling people that she was bad at her job, that she was fat and that she was ‘poor white trash.'”
The initial claims against Ravenel include an alleged rape
Nanny Dawn is believed to be the third woman to have accused Thomas Ravenel of sexual assault; the first is Debbie Holloway Perkins. The question of the number of women included in the Thomas Ravenel sexual assault claims stems from the fact that the identity of the woman who has accused Ravenel of rape remains anonymous. (The alleged rape took place in January of 2015, the same time that Nanny Dawn — who has asked that only her first name be used — says Ravenel assaulted her.)
The Charleston City Paper has published a redacted version of the police report in Ravenel’s alleged rape case. Their accompanying article specifies that Ravenel is accused of committing “sex offense / forcible rape” against an unnamed woman who lives in Lincolnton NC.
Ravenel told the publication that the accusation is “absolutely false. And NBCUniversal, which owns Southern Charm network Bravo, issued a statement on behalf of Bravo and the show’s production company:
Haymaker, the production company for Southern Charm, and Bravo take allegations like these very seriously. Haymaker is conducting an investigation, and once all the information is gathered and carefully reviewed, appropriate action will be taken.
The most detailed of the Thomas Ravenel sexual assault claims come from Ashley and Debbie Holloway Perkins. Ashley has told her mother’s side of the story in a series of lengthy blog posts on her personal web site; she also described what she says happened for People:
Ashley — who said she did not witness the alleged assault — said her mother “acted very withdrawn” after the date before she confided in her daughter that Ravenel “‘stuck his penis in my face.’” She also accused Ravenel of holding her mom’s arms back and sticking his fingers inside her vagina and anus.
“Her wrists were starting to look bad the next morning. I said, ‘We need to see who we’re dealing with.’ She didn’t want to do anything. She was scared to go to court. I said right now you don’t want to do anything, let me take a picture of your wrist. Let’s get some evidence in case you want to do something.”
And here’s the alleged picture, which Ashley tweeted out in order to support her claim:
Bravo star, #RavenelBridge from Southern Charm settled with a local resident, my mother, 2 years ago over a sexual assault charge with Gloria Allred leading the mediation.#Thomasravenel #WomenMatter @Bravotv @kathryn_dennis @TMZ @DailyMail @Andy #SouthernCharm @PerezHilton pic.twitter.com/mEloeRwY4N
— ? Ashley Perkins ? (@AshleyPerkins89) April 13, 2018
Earlier accusations of physical assault led to Ravenel’s split from Kathryn Dennis
Though the three stories are the first public accusations of sexual assault against Thomas Ravenel, they are not the first claims of physical abuse. In October of 2014, Ravenel allegedly assaulted Kathryn Dennis’ hairdresser Lauren Moser, injuring her by twice swinging open a door on Moser and causing her to fall down a staircase.
Charleston police investigated the incident, though no charges were ever filed against Ravenel.
(Photo credits: Thomas Ravenel sexual assault claims via Instagram, Bravo)
John Sharp is a Starcasm senior editor. E-mail tips to john@starcasm.net or send on Twitter at @john_starcasm.
