T.I. has stepped forward to address some accusations of sex trafficking made against himself and his wife Tiny Harris.
What started as an accusation of violence has now turned into a complex sexual assault allegation involving multiple parties. Atlanta entrepreneur and former friend to Tiny Harris, Sabrina Peterson, recently made the claim online that T.I. had once held a gun to her head and therefore should not be admired or held up as an example in any way. After Tiny responded to the story by brushing it off as complete fabrication, Sabrina came back with an even heavier accusation. This time, Peterson claimed that she was in contact with over two-dozen women who allege that they were drugged and sexually assaulted by both T.I. and his wife.
TIP was remarkably silent for much of this exchange, but now he is choosing to speak out through a video he posted to his social media. He started by defending Tiny, calling her “a beautiful person with an amazing spirit and a kind heart.” He went on to explain that any sexual activity he and his wife have participated in with other people has been done so with complete consent.
“If we want something we know exactly where to go to get it,” he said. “We ain’t never force nobody, we ain’t never drug nobody against their will, we ain’t never held nobody against their will, we ain’t never made nobody do anything, we ain’t never trafficked anything.” He then added, “Well, ain’t never sexually trafficked anything.”
T.I. concluded his video by responding to Sabrina’s recurring argument that she is not being believed due to her race and gender.
“Black women, in particular, should be supported, protected, defended, and uplifted,” he said. “However, evil has no gender. People with evil intentions have no gender. A threat comes in all shapes and sizes.” Only time will tell if these allegations turn into a serious legal matter for T.I. and Tiny.
“Unfortunately right now, it doesn’t matter as much what they can prove you did,” the Atlanta rap legend explained. “It matters what you can prove you didn’t. And that’s just an unfortunate place that our society has made it to. But I wanna be clear about one thing – women who have been victimized deserve to be heard. Black women in particular should be supported, protected, defended and uplifted. However, evil has no gender! … I would never treat a woman the way I treat a threat. That has to be distinguished.”
T.I. and Tiny Harris also released a joint statement denying Sabrina Peterson’s allegations and threatens legal actions. “The Harrises have had difficulty with this woman for well over a decade,” the statement reads. “They are taking this matter very seriously, and if these allegations don’t end, they will take appropriate legal action.”
