Looks like T.I. may have to pay up $1 million and eat his words after a video circulated on social media in which he appears to call comedian Lauren Knight a “bitch.” This comes after T.I and Lauren got into a verbal beef after she made a joke about sexual allegations against him and his […]
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In case you didn’t know already, trap rap godfather T.I. has recently made a pivot to standup comedy. While some of his initial material has received mixed reactions online, he’s kept at it, refining his material and accumulating the most important part of any good standup career: Experience. However, he may want to also develop a thicker skin, judging from a video that recently surfaced on social media.
During a recent open mic night in his hometown, Atlanta, T.I. reportedly went from heckling the host to having an outright confrontation with her on stage when she retaliated by poking at a sore spot for the rapper turned comedian. In 2021, T.I. and his wife Tiny were accused of multiple instances of sexual assault by a group of women who claim that the couple drugged them on several instances in both California and Georgia. As he heckled the host, comic Lauren Knight, Knight apparently clapped back with a reference to the allegations, prompting T.I.’s outburst on stage.
Later, on Instagram, both parties detailed their respective sides of the story. Knight said, “I’m talking about marriage and sh*t [and] he keeps cutting me off, telling me to ‘shut the fuck,’ calling me all kinds of bitches—heckling me. So, I’m like, ‘Alright, c’mon. Stop playing with me. It’s crazy, like you keep going and I can’t say nothing to you.’” She said after T.I. jokingly told her to remove her wig, she struck back. “I said, ‘Alright, I’ll take my wig off when you speak on the allegations. Nobody was tight, except for him. Nobody called him a rapist. I responded to him telling me — in a room full of people — to rip my wig off, and made a joke just like he did. So if you got a problem with it, not mine.”
Meanwhile, T.I. addressed the incident in a separate live stream in which he defended himself, claiming that he did not call Knight any names. However, she responded with a video of her own that seemed to refute his statements.
T.I. previously refuted the allegations against him and his wife, challenging the accusers to come forward publicly.
T.I. has long been one of Atlanta’s greatest advocates in rap music, declaring himself one of the founders of trap music and generally waving the flag for his hometown whenever it enters the wider discussion in hip-hop these days. This week, Atlanta certainly has been the subject of some debate, mostly among Atlantans themselves, thanks to claims made by rising rapper Omeretta The Great in her song, “Sorry Not Sorry,” which T.I. subtly refuted on Instagram.
In the song, Omeretta makes some assertions about what she thinks counts as Atlanta, taunting out-of-towners who claim the city in the pursuit of credibility and notability. “College Park is not Atlanta / Lithonia is not Atlanta / Clayco is not Atlanta / Decatur is not Atlanta / Gwinnett is not Atlanta / Roswell is not Atlanta / Forest Park is not Atlanta / Lilburn is not Atlanta,” she says. However, a number of citizens took issue with her claims, debating the fragmented city’s bonafides all over social media. Naturally, T.I. stepped in with his own brand of wisdom to helpfully simplify the discussion with the help of visual aids.
“Respectfully…. Only fools dispute facts,” he wrote on Instagram in a post sharing a map of the Atlanta metro area.
Adding some insult to injury, fans noted that the video for “Sorry Not Sorry” was filmed 10 miles outside of Atlanta at Cobb County’s Truist Park. While Omeretta’s single may have backfired on her, it also helped her increase her notoriety at home. If she can weather the storm and harness the attention she’s received as a result of her stunt, she could turn the situation around and be well on her way to joining T.I. as one of the city’s most notable stars.
It’s a widely-accepted truth in the stand-up comedy biz that everybody bombs, especially when they’re just starting out. This might actually be doubly true for folks who are getting into stand-up from other entertainment disciplines like music because while you might be used to working the crowd, the dynamics are just different enough to throw off any dilettantes. For instance, Chance The Rapper, who famously stunk up his first open mic attempt in 2019. Well, at least now he’s not alone, and can now enjoy the illustrious company of one Clifford “T.I” Harris in the rap-to-comedy hall of shame.
In a video posted to Instagram by T.I.’s wife Tiny and captured for posterity by The Jasmine Brand, T.I. attempts one of those tried-and-true areas of stand-up: relationship jokes. “If you ever get into the area of cheating, that’s no man’s land,” he cracks. Can you be in a committed relationship and still have a friend from the opposite sex? Now, if you f*cking, it don’t count!”
Oof.
Now, no idea’s original, and to be fair, a few chuckles can be heard in the crowd in the video, but the response online was a little less forgiving of T.I.’s novice comedic chops. One commenter on the post wrote, “Boooooooooo! Get off the stage!” Another referenced one of T.I.’s recent boasts: “I get it now,” they mused. “When he said no artist out there could touch his catalog, he was joking. That is good to know because I thought he was high AF.” Ouch. There’s no pleasing everybody but clearly, if T.I. wants to continue down this road, he’ll have to work on his delivery.
Meanwhile, there was one rapper who recently made the leap who actually had a successful comedy debut: Danny Brown, who expressed excitement that he “didn’t bomb” when he opened for his friend Hannibal Buress in September.
(@sheslaurenk)