(Getty Images)
Nelly was arrested for rape on Saturday. Police took the rapper into custody hours after the alleged crime took place in Washington.
Nelly (real name: Cornell Haynes) is currently on tour with Florida Georgia Line. The two acts famously collaborated on the remix to “Cruise” in 2013 and have remained collaborators ever since. Florida Georgia Line is considered the headlining act on the “Smooth Tour” with Nelly as the opener. They had a concert stop at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn on Friday night, after which he allegedly had a non-consensual sexual encounter with a woman on his tour bus.
The unidentified victim told police Nelly raped her around 3:45 a.m. local time on Saturday morning. According to TMZ, Nelly was booked around 7 a.m. on a charge of second-degree rape. He is reportedly still behind bars. He and Florida Georgia Line have another concert lined up for Saturday night, at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater in Ridgefield. If it still takes place as scheduled, it will likely be without Nelly.
As Gossip Cop reported, Nelly and Florida Georgina Line performed together in a “GMA” summer concert in May. Dates for their joint tour are currently slated through October. Nelly, who is pictured above at the tour’s September 7 concert in Anaheim, was previously arrested in 2015 for drug possession. As we noted at the time, Nelly pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and entered a pretrial diversion program. He was sentenced to 11 months of probation, a time period that expired before this new arrest. Gossip Cop has reached out to reps for comment and will have updates.
UPDATE: A lawyer for Nelly says in a statement, “Nelly is the victim of a completely fabricated allegation. Our initial investigation clearly establishes this allegation is devoid of credibility and is motivated by greed and vindictiveness. I am confident, once this scurrilous accusation is thoroughly investigated, there will be no charges. Nelly is prepared to address and pursue all legal avenues to redress any damage caused by this clearly false allegation.”
The rapper was released a few hours after being arrested without charges being filed. He later tweeted, “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.” He added, “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.” The rapper continued, “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.” Nell concluded, “To be absolutely clear. I have not been charged with a crime therefore no bail was required. I was released, pending further investigation.”
