T.I. and wife Tiny sued over alleged 2005 sexual assault in hotel room
T.I. and Tameka "Tiny" Harris attend the BET Hip Hop Awards 2022 at The Cobb Theater on September 30, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
LOS ANGELES - A military veteran has accused Atlanta rapper T.I. and his wife Tameka "Tiny" Harris of sexual assault.
TMZ reports that the woman, who filed a lawsuit against the couple as "Jane Doe," claims the couple drugged her after she met them at the VIP section of a nightclub in Los Angeles around 2005.
In the lawsuit, the woman says she was given a spiked drink by Tiny and then was taken back to their hotel room where they "forced her to get naked" before assaulting her, Billboard reports.
During the alleged incident, the woman, who was 20 and serving in the U.S. Air Force at the time, said she became "extremely dizzy and lightheaded" and passed out.
The woman is suing the couple for sexual battery, assault, negligence, and false imprisonment.
In a statement to TMZ, the couple denied the accusations and called the lawsuit "extortion."
"On the heels of positivity, negativity always rears its ugly head. This plaintiff has been threatening to file this lawsuit for THREE years," the couple's statement reads. "For THREE years, we have emphatically and categorically denied these allegations. 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."
The Los Angeles Police Department began an investigation into sexual assault allegations against the couple in 2021 but declined to bring charges due to the statute of limitations.
Las Vegas police also received a report in 2021 of a sexual assault incident in 2010 involving the couple, but the case was also closed because it was reported outside the statute of limitations.
In March 2021, attorney Tyrone A. Blackburn said more than 30 women contacted him accusing T.I. and his wife of "forced drugging, kidnapping, rape and intimidation" in at least two states, including California and Georgia. He said the allegations span more than 15 years.
Production for the VH1 reality series "T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle" was suspended amid the sexual abuse allegations.
A spokesperson for T.I. and Tiny denied those accusations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported on from Atlanta.