I’m sure most of you have seen this already. I was out & about last night so I missed the latest update on this story. But as many of us suspected, this story was bogus right from the start.

I think most of us bloggers acted irresponsibly in our handling of this story. This is a classic case of jumping the gun before we got all of our ducks in a row. It illustrates the importance of not relying on blogs for your news.

When an industry cat called me about this story on Wednesday, the last thing he said to me was, “make sure you do your research before you post this.” But like a dummy, I didn’t listen to him.

I missed major red flags right from the start. Such as the fact that the source was a random, anonymous chick on Twitter(!). The supposedly “sealed” court documents that she posted online were incomplete and missing vital information such as a docket # and the jurisdiction/courts where the papers were filed in.

If this story was legit, she would have gone mainstream with it. And to use the excuse that the mainstream media didn’t pick up on this story because they’re not aware of who Pretty Ricky or Pleasure P are, is ridiculous.

I’ve seen the media get worked up over lesser known urban artists than them!

The reality is that media outlets like TMZ.com and People.com used caution and common sense in not running with a with a totally unsubstantiated story that had the potential to ruin lives and careers.

Here’s Pleasure P’s official statement that was posted on Atlantic Records website yesterday:

The following statement was issued by Marcus Cooper p/k/a Pleasure P through his attorney Robert Meloni, Meloni & McCaffrey, P.C., [Contact info removed].

“All of the recent rumors and accusations that are being circulated about me are 100% false. They are disgusting and vile; and they are being spread by individuals with their own sick agendas. The purported documents that are also being circulated are forgeries. I have never met or known anyone by the name of “AGoldstein” or Laura Goldstein or Ashley Goldstein, which I believe are fictitious names. I have never been represented by an attorney named Goldstein. For someone to go to such depths to assassinate my character and slander my good name is truly criminal. My attorneys are investigating this matter and will take all necessary and appropriate action to protect my name and reputation.”

Kudos to loyal reader BlackBarbie404 for the tip!