T.I. and Tiny Harris. Arnold Turner/Getty Images for Hidden Empire Film Group
T.I. and his wife, Tiny, have been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman they met at a nightclub.
The anonymous plaintiff filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, January 2, claiming she met T.I., 43, (real name Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.) and Tiny, 48, (real name Tameka Dianne-Cottle-Harris) at a Los Angeles nightclub in or around 2005.
In court documents obtained by Us Weekly, the woman, cited as Jane Doe, alleged that Tiny handed her a drink at the club, which she never saw Tiny sip from herself. She later left the hotspot with T.I. and Tiny under the impression that a man who went by “Caviar” would drive her friend to the same location.
However, the plaintiff’s friend never arrived, and she claimed to end up in a hotel room with Tiny, T.I., and two other women she didn’t know. Tiny later kicked the other two women out of the hotel room for flirting with her husband, the plaintiff further alleged.
While Hollywood may appear to be all glitz and glam on the surface, the industry has seen its fair share of scandals through the years. The New York Times and the New Yorker first published investigative pieces in 2017 that accused disgruntled movie producer Harvey Weinstein of decades of sexual assault and harassment. Soon after, Weinstein stood trial and was […]
The woman began to feel lightheaded and dizzy, at which point T.I. and Tiny allegedly sexually assaulted her. She claimed she told the rapper “no” and tried to push him away.
The next morning, the plaintiff’s “vagina was in serious pain,” she claimed. She is suing T.I. and Tiny for sexual battery, assault, negligence and false imprisonment.
A representative for T.I. and Tiny vehemently denied the allegations in a statement to Us Weekly.
“On the heels of positivity, negativity always rears its ugly head. This plaintiff has been threatening to file this lawsuit for THREE years. For THREE years, we have emphatically and categorically denied these allegations,” the statement began. “For THREE years we have maintained our innocence and refused to pay these extortionate demands for things we didn’t do. For THREE years, we’ve maintained the same position while the claims in this story have changed time and time again. Our position is clear … we are innocent of these fake claims, we will not be shaken down, and we look forward to our day in court.”
T.I.’s family hasn’t been on TV for years, but that doesn’t mean his family drama has stopped. T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle followed the life of the rapper and his wife, Tameka “Tiny” Harris, and they navigated life as a blended family. Before marrying the Xscape member, T.I. was already father of sons Messiah […]
The plaintiff’s lawyer also shared a statement with Us on behalf of their client.
T.I. and Tiny Harris. Paras Griffin/Getty Images
“Forcing someone, in this case by way of drugs, into doing something of a sexual nature they don’t want to is sexual battery – rape. Even after all these years, the embarrassment, shame, depression – it still lingers. Silencing women silences justice,” the statement read. “No longer will my client remain silent; we are now seeking justice for her and everyone who has been similarly violated.”
This is not the first time that T.I. and Tiny, who tied the knot in 2010, have faced sexual assault allegations. In February 2021, attorney Tyrone A. Blackburn approached law enforcement authorities seeking a criminal investigation after multiple individuals claimed to have been victimized by the pair.
Blackburn said that the allegations spanned more than a decade and included claims of “sexual abuse, forced ingestion of illegal narcotics, kidnapping, terroristic threats and false imprisonment,” The New York Times reported at the time.
Steve Sadow, a lawyer for T.I. and Harris, said at the time that the couple “deny in the strongest possible terms these baseless and unjustified allegations.” He called the claims “nothing more than the continuation of a sordid shakedown campaign that began on social media and now attempts to manipulate the press and misuse the justice system.”
Los Angeles officials announced in September 2021 that the couple would not face criminal charges for the allegations as the 10-year statute of limitations for such cases had expired. In January 2023, California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act went into effect, opening a year-long window allowing survivors of sexual abuse to file lawsuits where the statute of limitations would have otherwise run out.
T.I. and Tiny share sons King, 19, and Major, 15, and daughter Heiress, 7. Their first daughter was stillborn in 2007 when Tiny was six months pregnant.
The duo are also stepparents of each other’s children from previous relationships. Tiny shares daughter Zonnique, 27, with Zonnie “Deboe” Pullins and T.I. shares sons Messiah, 23, and Domani, 22, with Lashon Dixon, and daughter Deyjah, 22, with Ranniqua Brannum.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).