Police Investigating After Lil Xan Kicks Harvard Student at Royale Pregame

Nicholas Diego Leanos, a rapper known as “Lil Xan,” repeatedly struck and kicked a Harvard College sophomore in the face during the Harvard-Yale pregame at the Royale nightclub on Nov. 23, prompting the Boston Police Department to investigate an alleged aggravated assault.

In a video of the incident, Leanos can be seen repeatedly striking the student with his microphone before kicking him in the face. A second video appears to show the student giving Leanos the middle finger shortly before the assault started.

The student briefly lost consciousness after the assault, prompting the student’s father to call first responders to the nightclub, according to a police report of the incident. However, the student refused medical attention when the first responders arrived on scene.

The ticketed event — which was co-hosted by the A.D. and Fly Clubs — has already drawn intense criticism after students were left stranded in the rain as they waited to enter the nightclub.

In a statement posted on Instagram, Leanos claimed that the student attempted to touch him inappropriately while he was on stage.

“To people thinking I did what I did unprompted y’all need to chill,” Leanos wrote. “I gave him multiple warnings to stop but he did not and kept trying to touch me.”

Still, Leanos added that he feels “terrible” about his actions at the nightclub.

“Am I proud of how I acted or handled the situation? Hell no,” Leanos wrote. “I am a human just like you and I will be doing heavy reflecting after this.”

The student declined to speak for this article or comment on Leanos’ allegations. Leanos and his management team did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Officer Michael Torigian, a spokesperson for BPD, wrote in an email to The Crimson that the investigation is still ongoing.

Leanos, an emo rapper with more than one million monthly listeners on Spotify, rose to fame with his 2017 song “Betrayed.” Leanos also made news in 2018 when he was hospitalized for consuming an excessive amount of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, the BBC reported.

BPD officers responded to the scene after receiving a radio call reporting an assault and battery at 1:38 a.m., according to a police report of the incident.

The student’s father, who was in attendance at the pregame, told police officers that Leanos “assaulted the victim for no reason,” according to the report.

The police report also noted that Royale staff members witnessed Leanos assault a second patron and a security officer before fleeing the scene.

The officer filed a report for aggravated assault but did not include Leanos’s name on the report. Instead the suspect’s name is listed as “unknown.”

— Staff writer Sally E. Edwards can be reached at sally.edwards@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @sallyedwards04 or on Threads @sally_edwards06.

—Staff writer Asher J. Montgomery can be reached at asher.montgomery@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @asherjmont or on Threads @asher_montgomery.