T.I., Tiny deny sexual assault, drugging claims in lawsuit

Tip "T.I." Harris in formalwear puts his arm around Tameka Harris who has long braids and a olive green bomber jacket

Jan. 3, 2024 11:56 AM PT

Rapper T.I. and wife Tiny said they will not waver as they face resurfaced allegations of sexual assault in a new lawsuit.

The couple, whose real names are Clifford Harris Jr. and Tameka Harris, said in a statement Wednesday to The Times that their accuser — identified in the complaint as Jane Doe — has threatened legal action for the last three years and that they have since “emphatically and categorically” denied the allegations and maintained their innocence, “while the claims in this story have changed time and time again.”

In May 2021, Los Angeles police detectives launched an investigation into a sexual assault report in which the woman accused the “Live Your Life” rapper and the Xscape singer of sexual assault in 2005. Months later, in September 2021, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to file charges against the musicians because the case fell outside of the 10-year statute of limitations.

Doe’s allegations against T.I., 43, and Tiny, 48, resurfaced in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act. The law allows civil suits in cases of sexual assault that had gone past the statute of limitations, when “one or more entities are legally responsible for damages and the entity or their agents engaged in a cover up.” The act allowed for suits to be filed through the end of 2023.

The former “Family Hustle” stars said on Wednesday: “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.”

In her complaint, reviewed by The Times, the woman alleged she met the couple in or around 2005 when she was enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and stationed in Los Angeles. Doe, who was either 22 or 23 at the time, joined a friend for a party at rapper Coolio’s home, where they met a man named “Caviar” who allegedly worked as an agent for the hip-hop spouses. After T.I. and Tiny did not appear at the house party, Caviar allegedly told the accuser that the couple would be at an L.A. club the next night.

The woman and her friend went to the club, where they saw the Harrises and were escorted to the VIP section. According to the suit, “Plaintiff noticed that T.I. and Tiny were whispering to each other and pointing to different women around the club in a suspicious manner.”

The complaint said the woman ordered two drinks of her own and that Tiny handed her another beverage, which she did not drink from herself. When T.I. decided he wanted to leave the club, the woman said the rapper asked that she ride with him and his wife, according to the lawsuit. The Grammy winner allegedly said that they would meet up with the woman’s friend and Caviar — who drove in another car — at another location.

Doe alleged that two other women from the club — whom she did not know — joined her in T.I. and Tiny’s SUV, and they ended up in a hotel room. T.I. asked the two other women to leave the room — leaving T.I., Tiny and their accuser alone, the lawsuit said. Doe said the rapper gave her “explicit detail and instruction for how the remainder of the night was going to go.”

The woman went to the bathroom, where Tiny allegedly stripped her of her clothing and T.I., naked, joined them. She was allegedly directed to step into the shower, where T.I. and Tiny joined her. The shower made the accuser feel “extremely shocked and uncomfortable,” the complaint said.

Doe alleged she was then instructed to get into the bed with T.I. and that she felt “extremely dizzy and lightheaded.” Once on the bed, the rapper allegedly turned on a pornographic movie and handed the woman a bottle of massage oil, demanding that she rub his naked body. Tiny joined the woman and T.I., touching Doe. The complaint alleges that T.I. “proceeded to slide his toes into Plaintiff’s vagina” as Tiny straddled her back. Doe said she told T.I., “No.”

The rapper went to get a condom as his wife allegedly continued to “arouse herself” on Doe. Tiny allegedly told the woman that she wished they were at her home so she could use a sex toy on her. After the comment, the woman went to the bathroom where she vomited, the lawsuit said. She claims the musicians mocked her, saying “looks like you in last place.” The woman came out of the bathroom and laid on the couch, where she allegedly passed out until the next morning.

Doe said in the lawsuit that she woke up to the sound of a security guard pounding on the door. She said she noticed “her vagina was in serious pain, and that she felt an itching and burning sensation.” She was escorted out of the hotel room while T.I. and Tiny were still in bed. She was picked up by her friend who left with Caviar the previous night. The friend also believes she was sexually assaulted, the lawsuit said.

The woman’s complaint also accuses T.I. and Tiny of battery, negligence, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking an undisclosed amount for lost earnings, general damages and legal fees, and is asking for a trial by jury.

In March 2021, T.I. and Tiny faced allegations of “forced drugging, kidnapping, rape and intimidation” spanning more than 15 years from more than 30 women. Through their attorney, Steve Sadow, the Harrises denied the claims. The sexual abuse allegations took a toll on the couple’s professional life as VH1 suspended production of their series, “T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle.”

In a Wednesday statement to TMZ, T.I.’s legal representative dismissed Doe’s “bogus” claims and said she “missed the deadline to file the lawsuit.”

Rodney S. Diggs, an attorney for the accuser, said otherwise and that his client is “within the statute of limitations.”

Diggs added: “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. No longer will my client remain silent; we are now seeking justice for her and everyone who has been similarly violated.”

Times staff writer August Brown and Richard Winton contributed to this report.