Nelly is still touring, which I didn’t know. I honestly thought he just lived in Atlanta and quietly built an empire, but he’s still touring, and he’s currently on the road with Florida Georgia Line. His latest tour brought him to Washington state over the weekend, which is why his tour bus ended up parked in a… Walmart parking lot. Now a woman claims that Nelly raped her on the tour bus. He was arrested, booked and released on rape charges this weekend.
Nelly has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman … TMZ has learned. Law enforcement sources tell us, a woman claims she was raped on the rapper’s tour bus — which was parked in a Walmart lot in Washington — where he’s been performing. Nelly is on a tour with Florida Georgia Line and they are set to perform Saturday night in Ridgefield, Washington.
We’re told the alleged rape occurred Saturday morning at 3:48 AM. We’re told she specifically said Nelly is the one who raped her. Nelly was booked on second degree rape charges Saturday morning at around 7 AM and released shortly after.
Nelly’s lawyer tells TMZ, “Nelly is the victim of a completely fabricated allegation. Our initial investigation, clearly establishes the allegation is devoid of credibility and is motivated by greed and vindictiveness. I am confident, once the scurrilous accusation is thoroughly investigated, there will be no charges. Nelly is prepared to pursue all all legal avenues to redress any damage caused by this clearly false allegation.”
Nelly’s manager and Nelly himself want us to know that he has not been charged with a crime, and that the police are still investigating what happened. He was released just after he was booked. TMZ followed up with this:
The woman who claims Nelly raped her says she had been partying with him before he forced her to have sex without a condom, but Nelly’s lawyer says he will expose her for what she is … a liar. We’ve learned the 21-year-old Seattle resident claims she met Nelly at a club in Washington, where she and her friends drank at his table and got “tipsy.” She says she was invited to an after-party and drove off with Nelly’s people. The woman says she was taken to Nelly’s tour bus.
She says she was in Nelly’s room with him when he tried to have sex with her and she said no. She claims Nelly told her to “shut up” and said he wanted to have sex with her without protection, which she says he did over her objections. The woman says, afterward, Nelly offered her money, but she declined, and then a woman came up and said, “You gotta go.” She kicked her off the bus and threw $100 at her.
Nelly’s lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, tells TMZ, “It does not surprise me that she wanted to have her story publicized. That is playbook 101 of a person with an agenda and clearly she has one. The agenda is money, fame and notoriety.” Rosenblum says he has an investigator on the case and “we will be able to show by objective evidence and unbiased witnesses that she has zero credibility.” The lawyer adds, “She’s a person who is making a dangerous, fraudulent allegation to accomplish her own goals.”
Well, if a condom wasn’t involved, that would make DNA testing from a rape kit pretty important, although we don’t know if she underwent a rape kit. So far, Nelly and his lawyers haven’t offered any argument that Nelly claims he did have consensual sex with the lady, they’re just branding her a liar and a fraud and that’s it. Statistically, it’s more likely that a woman coming forward and reporting rape to the police is telling the truth, so set a baseline for “believing the woman.” But, obviously, there is going to be further investigating by the police and we’ll see. Nelly used his Twitter to release a personal statement:
Let me say that I am beyond shocked that I have been targeted with this false allegation. I am completely innocent. I am confident that once the facts are looked at , it will be very clear that I am the victim of a false allegation.
— Nelly_Mo (@Nelly_Mo) October 7, 2017
I do want to apologize to my loved ones for the embarrassment and for putting myself in a situation where I could be victimized by this false and defaming allegation.
— Nelly_Mo (@Nelly_Mo) October 7, 2017
I also want to thank my fans for their unwavering support. They know me. I assure you I will be vindicated. And I assure you, I will pursue every legal option to address this defaming claim. Thank you
— Nelly_Mo (@Nelly_Mo) October 7, 2017
In other words y'all know damm well I ain't do no dumm S^*t like this..!! Love ..!!!!
— Nelly_Mo (@Nelly_Mo) October 7, 2017
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Not a popular opinion here but I believe him.
As far as I know he’s been scandal free throughout his career.I just don’t see any motive for him to do something that sounds as stupid as this. “Stupid” as in exposing himself in such a stupid way and tarnishing his reputation. If he raped her without a condom then obviously DNA will find him. He doesn’t strike me as your typical thug Gangsta rapper who you might expect to get caught up in stuff like that.
“He doesn’t strike me as your typical thug Gangsta rapper who you might expect to get caught up in stuff like that.”
You know, opposed to the typical thug Movie Producer.
You’re entire comment was bad, but that part stood out as extra bad.
I believe Nelly too. I also believe every victim of HW. Although that particular part of the comment wasn’t great, I agree with Big D’s sentiment.
And you should probably check YOUR editing. I’d suggest it.
So you are here supporting this racist comment? Because my typing on a phone autocorrected your to you’re? Cool.
.
Detritus ftw.
No, I’m not supporting a racist comment. Just saying that we still live in a country where a person is INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. For example, HW- while he hasn’t technically been tried, his behavior and shockingly long list of victims make it glaringly obvious he has committed these crimes. If more EVIDENCE presents itself in this case, obviously my sympathy is with the victim and Nelly should be brought to justice for his crimes. This court of public opinion is absurd. People love to jump on a hater bandwagon. If you can’t see this, you’ve obviously never known someone falsely accused of something like this and how it completely ruins their life. But yeah, sure. Whatever the haters on this page need to say to make it through their day.
Ok, well you are interjecting another argument here, but if you wish.
It always struck me that ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ should apply to the accuser as well. That they should not be assumed guilty of lying until proven so.
I’m with you, Detritus. Such a weird and racist comment.
I WANT to believe Nelly, because I enjoy his first album and want to be able to listen to it without feeling guilty, but that doesn’t mean I DO believe him.
Thank you detritus for speaking up.
Thug rapper?!!! My words that is all sorts of wrong. Tangerine 45 is a thug. Nelly and many like them are hip hop stars and musicians.
My phone loves to change words like that also. Even “well” to “we’ll” (autocorrect just tried to do that to me in this sentence). I am baffled by it, but since there is a lag, sometimes I hit send just after it changes it. Plus it’s hard to proofread on a tiny screen. Forum posts can be hard or impossible to edit after sending – even CB sometimes won’t let me do it because everything is slowed down to a crawl.
I have to proofread my own work all the time, since I work as a translator, and was born with my mother’s spelling gene. But my reputation for creepy correctness has been irreparably damaged by cell phones and autocorrect. Really, people, it’s especially pointless nowadays to think such typos mean anything about the writer’s intelligence or carefulness. It never has been correlated, but it’s even less correlated today. Autocorrect is out to get us.
Innocent until proven guilty IN The Court System. You can have committed the crime and not be found guilty… OJ?
And it’s so important to go in believing the victim. Or at least not taking sides based on your perception and denial statements given before any facts are covered.
But we’re supposed to believe any woman who comes forward, no questions asked. Any woman who comes forward is not making an accusation but saying the gospel truth. Haven’t you heard?
Snark! How adorable and appropriate in conversations about rape! The reason people are saying that they will default to women being believed isn’t because we’ve all jumped on some hysterical feminist agenda bandwagon, it’s because, in cases of sexual assault allegations, the societal default is to DISbelieve the woman. I mean the first comment on this story was disbelieving the woman bc apparently Nelly isn’t “thug” enough to be a rapist, which packs a whole ton of racism on top of the initial misogyny. FBI studies have shown that rape is not falsely reported at a higher rate than any other crime, yet it’s the only crime where we put the accuser on trial over the accused. We need to reset our baseline when it comes to how we respond to rape allegations. That means believing the woman. We live in a world where less than 2% of rapists spend a day in jail. Believe women.
Who is saying that? Looks like you are the only one making the assumptions here, doll. One can choose to believe a victim 100%, but it is also possible to give both parties benefit of the doubt, don’t you know? Things are not always black and white. Hope someday you realize that and learn to be objective.
And keep in mind (if you are not ignorant) that you are more likely to be rapist and get off with no punishment than to be false accused and convicted as a result. FACTS. They are your friend, if you let them be.
I truly don’t think everyone realizes that bijou, it bears repeating.
“One can choose to believe a victim 100%, but it is also possible to give both parties benefit of the doubt”
Editing because I misread a comment at first. Apologies!
I believe him. But you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. A lot of rappers put on a show for their fans. Just because you look like a thug, that doexs not mean you would rape someone. My husband is big and black and apparently, looks like a “thug.” By people’s reactions to him, I mean. He used to box and looks like it. He also has resting bitch face. I worry about him. People stereotyping him, I mean. And a cop, thinking he’s a danger, doing something to him. I, otoh, could get away with murder because I’m white, female and soft spoken.
I mean holy loaded racism Batman. I mean geez.
I’m waiting to here more of the story like always. I always err on the victim side but again nothing has come out. Just because he’s been scandal free means nothing to me really. But let’s be real he does have a history of misogyny and had the audacity to blame spelman for his sister dying. After cancelling a fundraiser. Because they wanted to talk about his misogyny in music vids. So yea he isn’t a paragon of good.
I’ll wait to see how this goes
So basically you are saying you would expect a “typical thug Gangsta rapper” to rape a woman? But if he comes off as less thuggish than “typical”, he mustn’t be a rapist? Wow. The density is real with this one. You can give both the benefit of the doubt without stereotyping the hell out of both sides…you know?
He was scandal free…so? Just cos it didn’t end up in the papers it doesn’t mean he’s not a creep and a rapist.
This is rape we are talking about. Of course i believe her. Its humiliating and just imagine being in her shoes, having his fans looking at you like you are satan.
Also worth noting 1) every rapist has a first time and 2) not every rapist rapes someone more than once.
There’s a creepy video floating around reddit/twitter. Nelly has a young girl approx 13 years old on stage. He sings to her and touches her hair, the poor child looks so uncomfortable
Ugh. That video. He caresses her hair, he run his fingers through it, while signing to her inches from her face.
It’s creepy and gross.
There is actually a couple of videos of him doing this. It was creepy to watch.
Apparently it’s a thing he’s been doing at all his shows. Always with young girls. He even made them find a younger girl when they brought a 16yr old up on stage. Incredibly creepy.
I say it everytime – only misogynistic male would ever come up with the rationalization of getting famous. What kind of fame a rape allegnations can bring? So I choose to believe her, especially with those wonky tweets. He apologized to his family for what? For being complitely inocent? Also from the way the victim reports what happened, I would not be suprised to find out sge was not the first one in upcoming days.
Right!?!?! What sort of rape allegation stories has he been looking at where women get a positive response for reporting against famous people? Because I can’t think of any. No one wants to be famous for being a celebrity’s rape victim what kind of nonsense is that logic my god…
You’re so right and the idea of being labeled a gold digging whore puts victims of celebrities off coming forward. It’s a sad situation.
I’m assuming it’s true. Nelly’s twitter statement was a little much. It actually comes off as a little Kevin Hart-ish. Apologizing for “putting yourself in a situation” that allowed someone to take advantage of you. Nelly’s been “victimized.” Ok, bruh. I’m hoping there’s a DNA kit.
Kevin Hart did not rape that women.I believe Nelly did have sex with his accuser and “apologized” to his girlfriend for putting himself of the situation of cheating with a stranger he just met.I need more info to decide if I believe a rape occurred.But I believe any man is capable of rape especially one who uses drugs like Nelly.He is not scandal free he just gets his “homies” to take a fall for his drug offenses.
If a DNA test is done and proves that he didn’t rape her, than shame on her for making up lies about such a serious crime. If he actually did it, lock him up and throw away the key.
Just to be clear, a DNA test would only prove that Nelly had sex with her. It is the entire rape kit that helps prosecutors determine if an actual assault took place. This is why it is so important that victims get to a hospital as soon as possible. Rape kits drastically reduce the chances that the DA will decide not to press charges.
A positive DNA result just means they had sex. I’m afraid it’s going to be a he said she said over consent.
That is not how a rape kit works. They can prove they had sex, but rape does not always mean physical injury to the area will occur.
Bijou
Assuming your comment was for me. Yes, that’s why I said rape kits help the DA and should be done immediately. Never said they were conclusive, just pointing out why DNA has nothing to do with establishing consent.
He’s lying. He probably thought she was “clean” because she’s twenty one, so he didn’t bother using a condom.
His star power didn’t keep this young one “shut up”.
Don’t jump to conclusions like that. I really don’t know much about Nelly, so I’m not a fan who will never believe he could be bad, but I know trouble starts when someone is assumed to be guilty even with no proof. Unfair and ignorant to say it has to be true because of her age and because he’s famous
Right back atcha.
How do you know he is lying?
Ew nelly a rapist ?
i do not know if the story is true or not, we will need more information.
But those videos – there are two of them – are reprehensible. To stroke young girls’s hair in such an explicit sexual manner is very disturbing. And why nobody on his team or management thought it was a bad idea to do that, is mind-boggeling.
Detritus, I am, as people say, a POC. I am not a Nelly fan, not even a particular fan of rap and what I said had nothing to do with being misogynistic or defending black rappers or supporting HW or men who harass women or whatever.
I just don’t believe he did it, from the bits of the story I have read this far. Just an opinion. That’s it.
The gangster thug rapper part, that’s what got me. The victim disbelief part isn’t great either, but that I can’t be bothered to argue with that anymore,
My point is that all rapists aren’t identifiable by what they wear, or what they sing. The wording you used is like dog whistles to conservative white folk, and can reinforce bad and incorrect stereotypes.
Especially when rapists look like Weinstein, a ‘respectable’ business man or act like Cosby, the king of respectability.
Agreed, Detritus.
It doesn’t hurt to reserve judgment. We don’t have to make instant decisions. My neighbor was mistakenly accused of rape (it was just misidentification, the victim wasn’t trying to lie), so I’m a tad sensitive on the issue. It just turned his life and his family upside down even though he was acquitted. They ended up moving away.
It’s true that society tends to assume the woman is lying, but those who investigate such things say only a tiny percentage are. The problem is that it usually happens without witnesses.
But to have a case, unless there were witnesses she does need at least to have been tested soon after. If she was drunk, can she give consent? I really wish people would stop thinking sex is consensual with someone who is drunk or drugged. I’ve been the only sober person in a room full of people who are drinking alcohol, and they are so horribly gullible. I could lead them to jump off a cliff with no trouble if I wanted.
Well we don’t actually know what happened do we?
What pray tell is your idea of a thug gangsta rapper who would be caught up with rape?
As for Nelly, sadly it’s probably true. Few victims subject themselves to the police and public gossip around rape and sex abuse. Especially with our culture of celebrity.
His response tells me that he is lying.
As much as I love Nelly, NO ONE gets a free pass with such a serious allegation. What I mean is,
an investigation must be completed first. “He never seemed like he would do that” is NOT an exoneration. Be fair, get the facts, etc. I sure hope this is not true, but we’ll see.
I’m really uncomfortable about the female assistant throwing the young woman off the bus. If true what kind of shit person do you have to be to earn your living that way? And Nelly’s lawyers referring to the alleged victim as a girl tells me everything I need to know about the tone they’re going to be using. Disgusting.
That part was disturbingly believable too.
Hopefully no deplorable or “feminists” will come out claiming that every female artist who’s ever worked with him is his prostitute now.
I’ll wait for the evidence to come out. She went to police immediately and claimed unprotected rape so hopefully there should be a rape kit. I’m on the side of women brave enough to say something, but encouraging that cannot mean guilt before we know the facts. It’s just reckless to do that to anyone’s reputation 48 hours after hearing news.
Can celebrities stop using the “you know me” because we don’t know you, we only know the image you sell to us.
Wow. His incredibly defensive response and labeling HIMSELF as a victim is very telling of his character. I do not know what happened and can’t say he did or did not do this, but I know what the likelihood is…
First and foremost, let me be clear: I believe the victim.
But early on in these situations, I do always try to imagine this hypothetical: it’s not true at all, and this person is being falsely accused. What would I say, if I were them? How would I say it? How would I handle it?
Unsurprisingly, their statements NEVER come close to anything emphatic or genuine or direct. They’re always too convoluted and vague, and they always act like the woman is mischaracterizing what happened. They never just say, simply, “I did NOT rape her, I have never raped anyone, and I have no idea why she would say this. I’m innocent.” And they certainly never say, “while these accusations are false and unfounded, I’m well aware that’s incredibly rare, and this does not mean you should side with the accused next time. Please do not let this color your opinion of the next person who accuses a public figure of rape. My accuser does not represent all women, and this experience has strengthened my resolve to fight for justice for rape victims.”
…sigh, I’m clearly dreaming.
If it makes you feel any better, Connor Oberst said something similar after his flalse rape accusation: “I don’t ever want to minimize how much that happens to women all the f—ing time,” he says. “They say one in four women will experience some kind of sexual assault in their life which is f—ing insane and heartbreaking. So as painful and surreal and f—ed up as my situation was, I don’t ever want to use this as an example to justify anything.”
But what if he is innocent? I would imagine that being accused of rape or another absolutely heinous crime would put anyone on the defensive, to say the least.
This almost happened to me. Before I jump into it, I’m just saying this scenario is very real and plausible. Let’s let the jacked up court system handle it but anything is possible. I was a freshman in college and hanging out at a party about a block from my apartment with friends. There had been a guy I was flirting with and we were all drinking. We decide to go back to his room and take it further. I was so excited, my first college hookup! We were in bed about to start and he refused to put a condom on, at this point we were both naked and he was on top of me. He said he didn’t like them, he actually tried to just continue over my objections but I pushed him off and screamed. I don’t think he expected that but I put my clothes on left. Call it an overreaction, call it attempted rape. It was terrifying. I can very easily imagine that under any other circumstances, he would have gotten upset at me and felt entitled considering the situation, “being a tease”, “knowing that I wanted it” and continue anyways. Or perhaps she didn’t react the way I did and without the presence of a BIG fight, to Nelly that meant consent.
I actually think that is what happened in this case. So glad you got away. One of my bffs is a stunning woman who gets a lot of attention when she goes out drinking or dancing with the girls. You’d be surprised how many pro athletes and entertainers approach her with the assumption that she’ll just go back to their hotel room/tour bus/condo. And yes, I’ve witnessed them being dismissive or outright nasty when she turns them down or rolls her eyes. Famous guys can be such pigs away from their wives and girlfriends.
I was assaulted on an actual tour bus, so it’s hitting close to home for me too. My attacker was on a tour of college campuses & clearly targeted me because I looked especially young/naive (it was my first month of college). I was similarly thrown off the bus. (And he was arrested that night but nothing ever came of it.)
I feel for this girl so much. Those tight quarters, that power imbalance… it’s frightening and I absolutely believe her.
Brittany
I’m sending you the world’s biggest hug 🙁
So many stories of famous people being ‘outed’ for reprehsensible acts and people still use the “he doesn’t have a history/doesn’t look like the type” argument.
We don’t know for sure yet, but statistically, the woman has a 92-98% chance to be in the right. That’s where I’m putting my “guesses” at. Also, the response from the lawyer, about the woman wanting fame and attention, is so typical, pandering to the public that already thinks in such stereotypes.
Thisssss.
You are so right.
Samantha, you’re absolutely right. Also, Ginger, spot on. I also get bad vibes about Nelly saying he was the victim. Even if it’s true he’s innocent, it’s a distasteful word to use if you are accused of a crime like this. ALso, I don’t like disparaging the woman either. How about, “I am innocent and the facts will prove so.”
…and after you state your ‘I’m innocent and facts will prove it’ line, you should just shut up and prevent your lawyer, friends, fans, etc from speaking about it also.
It is entirely plausible, but I can’t say I know if it is true.
But I do know she should be supported and treated as a victim until a full investigation proves or disproves the accusation.
The thing I blame these guys for is picking up unknown women if you are vulnerable to extortion. What part is their responsibility? When something happens, they cry they were being blackmailed. Every. Single. Time. It has happened but if that is a known case then maybe don’t be a horny a-hole and screw randoms regularly, and none of this would ever be a possibility. They are taught this by their agents and managers, if they are worth anything, but put themselves at risk for quickie sex.
Nelly is at least to blame for sheer dumbassity.
Why would any guy today go for unprotected sex anyway? They must know the risks by now. You can’t tell by looking at someone whether or not they are harboring some deadly or at least very annoying disease. Guys can force it on the women, but why wouldn’t they want to protect themselves?
And if they have a wife or girlfriend, they are endangering her and any potential children as well. A Doll’s House all over again.
Ask the partners of Jim Carrey and Usher about what unprotected sex with celebs got them.
Many men dislike condoms in the US. I have had several boyfriends happy I was on the pill so they can be au naturel.
Scott Rosenblum is a St. Louis attorney and he is a snake of (around here anyway) Swiftian proportions. He is a really, really good defense attorney, but people don’t make themselves look less guilty by hiring him.