Grammy-winning rapper T.I. and his wife Tiny are being accused of sexual assault.
The lawsuit was filed anonymously Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court by a woman who alleges they drugged her at a nightclub in 2005 and raped her in their hotel room. The couple, whose real names are Clifford and Tameka Harris, released a statement addressing the complaint and denying the accusations.
“On the heels of positivity, negativity always rears its ugly head,” the couple told People in a statement Wednesday. “This plaintiff has been threatening to file this lawsuit for THREE years. For THREE years, we have emphatically and categorically denied these allegations.”
They continued, “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.”
In court documents obtained Wednesday by multiple media outlets, the woman was identified only as Jane Doe. She accused the couple of sexual battery, battery, sexual assault, negligence, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The complaint arrived several years after a woman in Las Vegas and another in Los Angeles filed a police report accusing the couple of sexual assault. The latter filing stated the incident occurred in 2005, seemingly suggesting a connection to Tuesday’s lawsuit.
The plaintiff alleged in her complaint that she was in her early 20s and serving in the U.S. Air Force when she met the celebrity couple. Doe claimed she was introduced to them in the VIP section of a nightclub in Los Angeles by a man named Caviar.
Tiny gave her a drink before the trio returned to the couple’s hotel room with two other women, who left before Tiny took Doe’s clothing, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiff alleged she was “extremely shocked and uncomfortable” when T.I. and Tiny joined her in the shower.
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Doe claimed she felt “extremely dizzy and lightheaded” when ― after T.I. allegedly told her Tiny would bathe them both ― Doe was “signaled” to get into bed with T.I. The rapper allegedly ordered her in bed to rub oil on his back.
Doe claims Tiny was later straddling her back and “pinning” her down as T.I. allegedly “proceeded to slide his toes into [Doe’s] vagina.” She purportedly told him, “No” before he left to get a condom, as Tiny allegedly continued “grinding on” and “massaging” her rear.
Doe said in the complaint that she wound up vomiting as she “grew increasingly sicker and felt extremely ill by the assault.” She then crashed on the couch, “naked, dazed, sickened and weak,” and woke up in the morning with vaginal “itching and burning,” according to the lawsuit.
The complaint was filed under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, which permits civil suits on claims that would otherwise be dismissed due to the statute of limitations. Meanwhile, T.I. and his wife appear steadfast in their innocence.
They said in their statement, “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.”
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.