Lawyer Tyrone A. Blackburn has called for a sexual abuse investigation into rapper T.I. and his wife Tameka 'Tiny' Harris.
Blackburn, who is representing 11 alleged victims, penned a letter sent to state and federal authorities in Georgia and California, in which he urged them to look further into the claims of "sexual abuse, forced ingestion of illegal narcotics, kidnapping, terroristic threats and false imprisonment" against T.I. and Tiny, some of which go back to 2005.
In the note, Blackburn includes testimony from five people who claim they were either raped or sexually assaulted by the pair. One of the alleged victims - a female military veteran - claims she was drugged by the couple after meeting them at a club, after which they are said to have taken her back to their hotel room to have sex, during which the woman apparently vomited.
“The next thing she remembers was waking up naked on the couch, with a towel thrown over her, with a very sore vagina,” the letter states.
T.I., real name Clifford Harris Jr., and Tiny strenuously denied the claims in a statement via their lawyer Steve Sadow, which read: "Clifford (T.I.) and Tameka Harris deny in the strongest possible terms these unsubstantiated and baseless allegations. We are confident that if these claims are thoroughly and fairly investigated, no charges will be forthcoming.
"These allegations are nothing more than the continuation of a sordid shakedown campaign that began on social media. The Harrises implore everyone not to be taken in by these obvious attempts to manipulate the press and misuse the justice system."
It's not the first time T.I. and Tiny have faced such allegations. Sabrina Peterson, who had accused T.I. of putting a gun to her head in a post on Instagram in January, used her social media account to share testimonies from over 30 women who made sexual abuse allegations against the pair. However, Blackburn told The New York Times that none of these women were among those he is representing.
Following Peterson's posts, VH1 bosses decided to cease production on the couple's T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle reality show, midway through filming the fourth season.
"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 Entertainment spokesperson said in a statement to Deadline at the time. "Given the serious nature of the allegations, we have decided to suspend production in order to gather more information."
