T.I. is addressing a fan who asked about T.I. & Tiny: The Friends Family Hustle, which was pulled after sexual assault allegations against him and Tiny.
According to Hot News Hip Hop, the rapper, also known by as Clifford Harris Jr., has said that the network showed him no loyalty after he and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris were accused of sexual assault by 30 people in March 2021.
His reality series, T.I. & Tiny: The Friends Family Hustle, was taken off the air by way of an indefinite hiatus as a result. As T.I. wrote on Instagram, he felt that he was owed after spending 13 years with the network.
“@vh1 13 years no loyalty. No Integrity. Just jumped to conclusions. False accusations. No apology. No accountability. No closure. In the name of protecting women…while unfairly, without due process….Subsequently punishing Women??? No problem,” he wrote in the caption of his post, featuring a social media post wishing for T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle to be back on the air.
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In the wake of so many allegations, VH1 put the series on hold, especially regarding the seriousness of the allegations.
A law firm that represented 10 women and one man among the 30 individuals told the press that their clients alleged being drugged and kidnapped. The attorney for the 11 individuals, Tyrone Blackburn, alleged that T.I. and Tiny were helped by their employees to commit sexual crimes.
"[They] have kidnapped [victims], drugged them, raped them, and terrorized them with threats of death or physical bodily harm," he said in a press conference in 2021. He also said that in a letter to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra that the alleged crimes took place in Los Angeles as well as Florida and the couple's home state of Georgia, and that one of the victims claimed that T.I. allegedly threatened to kill her with a gun.
MTV Entertainment Studios released a statement in the wake of these allegations, stating that they were “aware of the allegations” and despite the allegations not being connected to behavior on the reality series, “we have reached out to T.I. and Tameka Harris, as well as local and state officials.” At the time, the show’s hiatus was so the company could “gather more information” on the allegations.
The couple denies the allegations, as said through their attorney, calling them "unsubstantiated and baseless accusations."
“These allegations are nothing more than the continuation of a sordid shakedown campaign that began on social media,” their attorney said. “The Harrises implore everyone not to be taken in by these obvious attempts to manipulate the press and misuse the justice system.”
