The Real Grand Hustle: T.I. and Tiny Harris accused of sex trafficking

BY JANIECE CAMPBELL

Trigger warning: This article contains subject matters of drugging, sexual coercion, violence and rape.

It’s getting weird in the entertainment industry.

Atlanta rapper T.I. and his wife, former member of R&B group Xscape, Tiny Harris, have serious accusations against them by former long-time friend, Sabrina Peterson and upwards of thirty anonymous victims thus far.

In an Instagram post, Peterson claims that T.I. allegedly put a gun to her head while children were in the room. In the same post, she goes on to say how black women are continuously victimized and painted out to be the villain, calling for black women everywhere to begin healing from all traumas they have faced, as “you can’t heal from what you never reveal,” she says.

Tiny was quick to come to her husband’s defence, claiming that T.I. was referred to as ‘uncle’ by Peterson’s children just two years ago, and also ending the post by telling Peterson to get help and leave her family alone.

It wasn’t long before floods of women began to message Peterson in confidence within a span of 24 hours, claiming that they’ve endured abuse from the couple in the past. Peterson then began to share the messages via her Instagram story, and each individual message detailed alike themes of victims being forced to do a variety of drugs, having their phones taken away and then proceeding in intoxicated sexual activity with the couple in hotel rooms. From some saying that T.I. gave them an incurable sexually transmitted disease, to others recounting that they were minors during the incidents, each story is eerily similar and unfortunately reminiscent of the #MeToo movement. Many even named Tiny as the “ringleader” in many of these altercations.

An official statement was released by a spokesperson for T.I and Tiny Harris, completely denying all allegations put forth. It reads:

“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 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.”

Sabrina Peterson made it clear that she has no intent to reverse her statements about the duo. Amid the uproar, she paid $650 for a polygraph test to prove herself. She posted a copy of the results and a recording of the examiner explaining the conclusion of the lie detector test, which indeed proved that she was telling the truth about T.I. pointing a gun to her head. She continues to expose the couple through screenshots of multiple people coming forward about their experiences, including messages from 911 operators, nurses and even industry professionals who worked alongside the pair.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard T.I.’s name in questionable circumstances. A few months ago, he was criticized for saying that he accompanies his eighteen-year-old daughter to the gynecologist for annual hymen check-ups, to ensure that she’s still a virgin. In another problematic interview, he refers to spending quality time with his daughters as “thot prevention hours.” A thot, which is a derogatory term to define sexually liberated women with multiple partners, is what he wants to avoid his girls from becoming, so he continuously brings them on trips and daddy-daughter dances in order to “keep [them] off of the pole,” he says. These rules are only applied to his girl children, as in his own words, “because sons can’t get pregnant.”

Peterson claims that she is in the process of compiling testimonies to make a “Surviving R. Kelly” style documentary, exposing the couple’s alleged sex trafficking ring.

No charges have been filed yet by either side.