Production for VH1’s hit reality series T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle has been suspended in the wake of sexual abuse allegations against the show’s stars. Rapper and actor T.I. and his wife Tameka Harris — also known as “Tiny” — are facing a range of sexual abuse allegations, which include trafficking, drugging, and coercing women, according to a report by Deadline.
The report added that the couple has denied “in the strongest way possible the egregiously appalling allegations,” and has threatened possible legal action against their accuser.
“We are aware of the allegations, and while they are not connected to our show, we have reached out to T.I. and Tameka Harris, as well as local and state officials,” said an MTV Entertainment spokesperson in a statement. “Given the serious nature of the allegations, we have decided to suspend production in order to gather more information.”
Given that the matter is still ongoing, the show — which had begun shooting its fourth season in Atlanta since December — has been put on hold. The decision to pause the show’s production was reportedly made mutually by T.I. and Tameka Harris, as well as by MTV Entertainment, according to sources who spoke to Deadline. The show has also put on hold its plans for a spring Season 4 premiere.
The report added that the show’s fourth season “chronicles T.I. and Tiny living thought the pandemic with their family, becoming grandparents, celebrating their 10-year anniversary, and embarking on philanthropic endeavors.”
The Atlanta-based rapper is no stranger to controversy. In 2017, T.I. called President Trump an “atomic dog diarrhea face ass man” while defending a music video that featured fellow rapper Snoop Dogg aiming a gun at a Donald Trump look-alike.
In 2018, T.I. made a video featuring a woman who played then-First Lady Melania Trump as a nude stripper dancing for him on a Resolute desk in a fake Oval Office.A spokesperson for the First Lady called out the rapper for his “disgusting” video, which the rapper posted to social media alongside the caption, “Dear 45, I ain’t Kanye.”
T.I. and Tameka Harris are not the only celebrities in the entertainment industry to be facing sexual abuse allegations in recent weeks.
In 2018, the rapper proclaimed that President Trump is a “madman” who is turning United States into “joke” on the world stage.
On Monday, rocker Marilyn Manson was accused by his ex-fiancé, Evan Rachel Wood, of “grooming” her when she was a teen and abusing her for years.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.