Tiny Harris’ attempt to raise a large sum of money for a celebrity bodyguard severely backfired once social media users demanded she put up the stack of cash herself.
On Tuesday, Oct. 24, the Xscape vocalist shared a message on Instagram about the “unfortunate” circumstances Trey Songz’s bodyguard, Cornell Whitfield, found himself in while in Dubai. She wrote, “We are asking for your help … $60k is what we are trying to raise to bring Champ back to the states.”
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She continued, “This situation is unfortunate and he does not deserve to be treated any kind of way for doing his job. He is a family man and loving father who deserves to be with his loved ones. To donate the link is posted on my stories . Thank you bring champ home.”
Attached to Harris’ message was an article published by The Daily Mail about Whitfield receiving a one-year sentence in jail in Dubai after stepping into a fight to protect the “Slow Motion” singer.
It can be inferred that the “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle” star received major flak for her post, for it is now deleted from her Instagram page. However, The Neighborhood Talk was able to capture and screenshot it before its deletion, and many individuals took advantage of the opportunity to bash Harris under their upload.
One critic wrote, “Rich people asking 9 to 5 people for donations is crazy,” while another person penned, “So between her, tip and trigga they couldn’t give 20k each.”
“Trigga” is one of Songz’s many nicknames. A few other comments seemed to mention him as well, “It’s TREY bodyguard that’s locked up for protecting HIM, make HIM pay it lmao that ain’t our problem we heading towards WW3 right now.”
There were also comments that urged Harris to contact her successful friends, “I know she ain’t asking the poors for a little $60k when her group chat is worth a billion. Ain’t no way she meant to post this.” Another comment read, “Ask your rich friends sis. Us regular folks are hurting from inflation. Sell some of those designers you got lol.”
Per The Daily Mail, Songz was almost attacked while leaving the luxurious FIVE Palm Jumeirah Hotel back in March. The event caused Whitfield to place himself in front of Songz, who was reportedly getting cussed out by an “aggressive” hotel guest.
In an attempt to defuse the situation, Whitfield “gently tapped” the man on his face. However, his so-called gentle act was met with a criminal complaint from the man who accused Whitfield of slapping him.
The 40-year-old left Dubai but returned later in August, when he was arrested. Now he’s been charged with assault and has to pay a total amount of $60,000 to have the charges dropped. If Whitfield does not come up with the money, he will be in jail for one year.
However, his family has already set up his GoFundMe account, raising more than $4,700 as of this writing. “He has already lost more than $35,000 in legal fees and hot bills,” his cousin, Sarena George, told outlet Detained in Dubai.
In addition to Songz, Whitfield has been a bodyguard to many stars such as rappers Quavo, Lil’ Kim, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel, and Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs.
While none of his former clients has spoken out in his defense, rapper Slim Thug recently went to X and showed support by tweeting, “Free Champ he was only doing his job.”
Whitfield reportedly is a father of two with a family based in Miami, Florida.
