What You Need to Know About the Sexual Assault Allegations Against T.I. and Tiny

T.I. and Tiny could face a criminal sexual assault investigation after 11 women came forward to seek legal action. Here's what you need to know.

T.I. and Tiny
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T.I. and Tiny

T.I. and his wife Tiny are potentially facing a criminal investigation after the couple was accused of engaging in a series of criminal acts including drugging, rape, and kidnapping. The allegations were brought to light after a former friend of the couple began sharing stories of alleged victims on her Instagram account in Jan. 2021. Since then, dozens of women have come forward with similar stories of abuse. Eleven women are now calling for a criminal investigation to be launched. Here is a comprehensive breakdown of what is happening in the unfolding case.

On Jan. 26, an Atlanta-based entrepreneur by the name of Sabrina Peterson took to Instagram, where she accused T.I. of putting a gun to her head. According to Peterson, the incident occurred because she was engaged in a physical altercation with T.I.’s former assistant, who Peterson said was treating her like a “slave.” “The sad part about being a woman & BEING A BLACK WOMAN IS THIS! The public PRAISES OUR PREDATORS! @troubleman31 you PUT A GUN TO MY HEAD IN FRONT OF CHILDREN & I NEVER CALLED THE POLICE ON YOU! But for years you have painted me as the VILLAIN!” Peterson wrote. Following Peterson’s claims, Tiny stepped in to defend her husband. “Hold up… So you want your abuser to train your sons? He was just uncle 2 years ago Now when did you say my husband assaulted you? Did you change your mind or change it back? What wit you today Pooh? I’m confused,” she wrote on Instagram. “Stop Harassing My Family. You strange. Everybody know you been special (face slicing seminar lady). Please get help but LEAVE US ALONE.” Peterson then used her platform on Instagram to share statements from more than 30 women who claimed to have been sexually assaulted and trafficked by both T.I. and Tiny.

T.I. and Tiny Harris are being accused of trafficking, drugging, and coercing women into having sex with the couple and close friends. While T.I. is alleged to be a willing participant, some of the women accused Tiny of being the “ringleader” who often recruited and drugged them. In many of the messages Peterson shared on Instagram Stories, the women claimed Tiny coerced them into taking Molly (a stimulant similar to ecstasy) or cocaine and engaging in sexual acts with the couple. Several women recalled the couple taking away their cell phones and refusing to let them leave. In a report by The New York Times, in which five of the alleged victims are profiled, each woman claimed they met the couple at a public venue when they were invited to their hotel room. The women claimed to have ingested a foreign drug and ended up naked in bed with the couple, where they were then assaulted. On April 1, two more women came forward, accusing the couple of drugging, abusing, and sex-trafficking them and others in 2010. 

Sabrina Peterson shared the stories of more than 30 women on her Instagram Story in Jan. 2021. Eleven of those women have come forward to seek legal action against T.I. and Tiny. On April 1, two more women came forward, accusing the couple of drugging, abusing, and sex-trafficking them and others in 2010. According to a report from Vulture, one of the victims claims she was “drugged, forced to take tons of molly and X, and sex-trafficked in three states,” including Nevada and Florida in 2010. The second victim alleges she was drugged during a May 2010 incident and then “raped by Clifford Harris and one of his male friends in a hotel in Miami, Florida.” Medical records from the second victim have reportedly be reviewed by an attorney. The report states both victims retained lawyer Tyrone A. Blackburn, who previously sent a letter to federal prosecutors calling for legal action to be taken against the married couple. 

 

 

 

On March 1, Sabrina Peterson filed a defamation lawsuit against T.I. and Tiny. In the suit, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Peterson says she has been a victim of defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress after sharing the stories of alleged victims online. In a statement to THR, T.I. and Tiny’s attorney Andrew Brettler said, “Ms. Peterson is the definition of ‘libel proof.’ She has a lengthy rap sheet for crimes involving dishonesty and violence. Nothing our clients may have said about her is defamatory. Ultimately, not only will Peterson’s meritless lawsuit be dismissed, but also she will be responsible for paying the legal fees the Harrises will be forced to incur in connection with it.”

On Feb. 28, lawyer Tyrone A. Blackburn sent a letter to state and federal prosecutors in Georgia and California, calling for an investigation into the allegations of abuse brought against T.I. and Tiny. In a letter Blackburn sent on behalf of 11 women, he claims the couple committed several crimes including “sexual abuse, forced ingestion of illegal narcotics, kidnapping, terroristic threats, and false imprisonment.” Blackburn also recounted the story of one woman who claimed to be abused by the couple in 2005. “On several occasions, T.I. forced her to take multiple ecstasy pills,” Blackburn wrote. “The duo forced her to engage in sexual acts with different women against her will. … She has personally witnessed women complaining of being kidnapped and held against their will for days at a time.” No legal or criminal action has been filed in regards to Blackburn’s request at this time.

After Peterson shared victims’ stories on her Instagram account, MTV announced that it would be suspending production of its series T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle. “We are aware of the allegations, and while they are not connected to our show, we have reached out to T.I. and Tameka Harris, as well as local and state officials,” an MTV spokesperson told Deadline

Filming of T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle has been suspended amid a range of sexual abuse allegations made against the rapper and his wife. Sources close to the network also stated that T.I. and Tiny ultimately made the decision to halt production as well as their plans to announce the season four premiere, in light of the allegations.

On Jan. 28, a spokesperson for the Harrises released a statement, calling the allegations brought against them “egregiously appalling.” “Mr. and Mrs. Harris want to be on record and more importantly want the public to know they emphatically deny in the strongest way possible the egregiously appalling allegations being made against them by Sabrina Peterson,” the statement reads. “The Harrises have had difficulty with this woman for well over a decade. They are taking this matter very seriously, and if these allegations don’t end, they will take appropriate legal action.” The next day, T.I. personally denied the allegations on IGTV. He called the women accusing him of various crimes “liars,” and suggested that he would take legal action against them. “Women, Black women in particular, should be supported, protected, defended, and uplifted,” he said. “However, evil has no gender … A threat comes in all shapes and sizes.” He also addressed the allegations against his wife and called her a “beautiful person” and a great mother to their blended family. “What we’re not gonna do is open the door to my bedroom,” he continued. “But I will say this: Whatever we ever have done, has been done with consensual adults who [are] into what we’re into and like what we like […] We never forced nobody, we never drugged nobody against their will, we ain’t never held nobody against their will, we never made nobody do anything … Never raped nobody.” 

While the allegations have sparked some outrage on social media, the music industry has been relatively silent. Tiny’s close friend Shekinah attempted to defend the couple when the allegations first came out  in January, but many people thought she implicated the couple even more. Singer-songwriter Kandi Burress, who sang alongside Tiny in the R&B group Xscape, briefly touched on her friend’s situation during an episode of Watch What Happens Live. “I don’t really wanna speak on that situation,” Kandi told host Andy Cohen. “What I want to say is people put out any rumor about somebody right now. This society has become a ‘you’re guilty until proven innocent’ instead of ‘you’re innocent until proven guilty.’ And I do not like that,” she said. “I will say they’re like family to me. Honestly, Tiny and I grew up together. Because of the things that were even said on our show, people always try to wrap me up into any rumor that happens right now. I wanna say, I don’t like that.”

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