Tip “T.I.” Harris says he was joking about comments he made regarding his daughter Deyjah’s annual virginity check-up. The 39-year-old father of seven appeared on Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk FACEBOOK web series in an episode that aired on Monday, Nov. 25.
T.I. admits the remarks he made during a recent podcast chat were said in a “very joking manner”, but he is determined to protect his daughter from sticky-fingered boys in heat.
“I think that in the age or the time when our women – black women – are the most unprotected, unattended, disregarded women on the planet, I’m being criticized because I’m willing to go above and beyond to protect mine,” he said in the chat, which premiered on Monday.
“Anything that is the most important thing to me in my life, I am going to deal with that with very extreme care,” he continued. “And I don’t understand how that is looked at as being so wrong.”
The musician, real name Clifford Harris, was heavily criticized for making the controversial comments to singer Miguel’s wife, Nazanin Mandi, during her Ladies Like Us podcast.
After confirming that he had the “sex talk” with his teenage daughter, he went on to joke about going to her gynecologist’s visits to make sure her hymen was intact.
“Deyjah’s 18, just graduated high school now, and yes, not only have we had the conversation (about sex), we have yearly trips to the gynecologist to check her hymen,” he said during the since-deleted podcast. “I will say, as of her 18th birthday, her hymen is still intact.”
T.I. told Jada he regrets sharing personal details about Deyjah publicly. He admitted Deyjah was disturbed by his comments.
“She did have a problem with me talking about it,” said T.I., “and I understand that, and I am incredibly apologetic to her for that. She understands my intentions and she knows who I am, who I’ve always been.”
A family friend who begged for anonymity told Sandrarose.com that he hoped the rapper would admit he was “exaggerating” about the gynecologist visits. The friend said T.I. took a lot of heat for a joke that was considered in poor taste. “He should just come clean and admit he was kidding,” said the friend.
FYI: Gynecologists do not perform hymen checks or Pap smears on children. A doctor would not perform a “virginity check” or “hymen check” on girl children unless there was a medical reason for the exam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDMAfoJM-Wg
