Two years ago, T.I. and Tiny Harris‘ former friend Sabrina Peterson made a series of dramatic accusations against the married couple and then sued them for defamation after they denied her accusations.
Among the list of allegations, Peterson alleged that T.I. held a gun to her head and threatened to kill her. She also accused the Harrises of sexually assaulting and exploiting several women, which led dozens to come forward with accusations that T.I. and Tiny drugged them.
Now, after a recent appeals court decision in their favor, the former stars of “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle” are demanding Peterson pay the legal fees they incurred by having to defend themselves in court. They are seeking a total of $164,650.56, according to documents obtained by RadarOnline and a statement shared by their lawyer.
“The Harrises’ request for $164,650.56 in attorneys’ fees and costs is reasonable and in line with fee awards regularly affirmed in this district,” said Andrew Brettler. “Given the complexity of the legal issues, the time necessary to adjudicate Peterson’s seven causes of action over a two-year period, and the additional costs of appeal, the amount requested should be awarded in full.”
The trio were once friends, which ended after Peterson took to social media in January 2021 and claimed T.I. pulled a gun on her in 2009 at a children’s party after an argument with his assistant. “B–h, I’ll kill you,” he allegedly said.
In a series of sessions on Instagram Live, the founder of The Glam University spoke with several women who were reportedly prepared to go public with their allegations.
RELATED: Six More Accusers Come Forward with Sexual Assault Allegations Against T.I. and Tiny Harris
Tiny accused her of harassing their family with false allegations, and Peterson accused the Harrises of harassing her in a lawsuit she filed seeking damages for their alleged defamation. She also included Tiny’s friend and hairstylist Shekinah Jones Anderson as a defendant, who spoke about the allegations on Instagram Live before the two reality stars.
T.I. insisted they did and said nothing to contribute to the tarnishment of her reputation. He further addressed the matter in a song titled, “What It Comes To.”
“F—k that, I’m crankin’ up the jury, who you lyin’ on shawty? Extortion, is that what you got your mind on, shawty? Tell ’em, “Get it how you live, shawty, I ain’t goin’ for it” I’ma take it all away, every day of the week. Bet you thought this s-it was sweet and I would pay in a week.”
Peterson and a portion of T.I. and Tiny’s 40 accusers were previously represented by Tyrone A. Blackburn. She said shortly after sharing her story that took place in 2009, these women contacted her alleging that they were drugged, sexually assaulted, kidnapped, threatened, or falsely imprisoned by the Atlanta-based duo, who allegedly forced the women to ingest illegal narcotics.
The women’s empowerment coach previously shared a few DMs she received on her Instagram Story, which detail a pattern and describe Tiny as the “ringleader” and a “worse abuse” than T.I. One woman alleged she had “neurological issues from the heavy use of molly she was instructed to take, and another message claimed that T.I. referred to the women as his “cattle.”
A third message explains how T.I. punched an “escort/stripper” in the face after Tiny got jealous of her husband paying the woman too much attention. The woman claimed they threatened to have her and her family deported if she told.
T.I. and Tiny also allegedly had “weird demands, and one message stated, “It’s disgusting and the network supporting. the ‘family hustle has a modern day Rkelly.'”
They once called them “fake victims,” while their lawyer Brettler described Peterson as “an adjudged liar, a convicted felon with a lengthy rap sheet for crimes involving dishonesty and violent assault, and has a reputation for being unscrupulous.”
After maintaining their innocence, Peterson agreed to drop her suit if they publically apologized, which T.I. declined. A motion to dismiss the majority of Peterson’s claims was initially denied until a judge ruled in their favor earlier this summer. She still has two out of seven causes of action left to fight in the pending lawsuit.
Due to her allegations, T.I. was unable to reprise his role in the third “Ant-Man” film and MTV has halted production on the family’s reality show on VH1.
