Rapper T.I. shocked many fans when he revealed during an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of Ladies Like Us podcast that he takes his 18-year-old daughter Deyjah to the gynecologist every year to check that her hymen is still intact.
T.I. made the shocking revelation when Ladies Like Us podcast hosts Nazanin Mandi and Nadia Moham asked him whether he had talked to his daughter about sex.
He answered that his daughter just graduated from high school and was attending college and that he has had a conversation about sex with her. He added that they also go to the gynecologist every year to check that her hymen is intact.
The hosts appeared at first to think he was joking, and they burst out into laughter. But they soon realized to their dismay that he was serious.
“This is what we do. Right after the birthday, we celebrate,” he said. “Usually like the day after the party, and she’s enjoying her gifts. I put a sticky note on the door: Gyno. Tomorrow. 9:30.”
He added that he goes with Deyjah to the appointment and makes her sign a paper to allow the doctor to share the result of the examination with him.
T.I. admitted that the doctor told him that sex is not the only way that the hymen can get broken and that it can also be broken during physical activities, such as sitting on a saddle while biking or riding a horse.
It can also be broken during vigorous athletic activity and gymnastic exercises.
But T.I. said he told the doctor that his daughter “don’t ride no horses, she don’t ride no bikes, she don’t play no sports. Just check the hymen please, and give me back my results.”
T.I. proudly told the Ladies Like Us hosts that his daughter’s hymen was still intact when they last checked on her 18th birthday.
“I will say as of her 18th birthday, her hymen is still intact,” he declared.
Twitter backlash
However, many people, including celebrities and T.I.’s fans, were appalled by his admission. Many said that his behavior was abusive and constituted an intrusion into his daughter’s privacy.
Some also accused him of hypocrisy, pointing to his history of having six children by multiple women.
This makes me feel physically ill. It’s abhorrent. This isn’t behavior to laugh at or joke about. The level of toxicity and malice and control he’s exerting on his own daughters life and bodily autonomy and and privacy. I’m sick https://t.co/x3L8q38VWg
— Madeline Brewer (@madkbrew) November 6, 2019
def did not think we would be talking about hymens today. or TI
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) November 6, 2019
The double standard of the patriarchy is truly insane. Young women are fully capable of making their own informed decisions about their bodies and their sexuality. pic.twitter.com/qJJE4AV130
— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) November 6, 2019
And virginity is a social construct and not measured by a hymen.
— Logan Levkoff, Ph.D. (@LoganLevkoff) November 6, 2019
This is SO incredibly disturbing. T.I. apparently goes to the OB/GYN with his 18-year old daughter to “check her hymen.” ?
“Virginity” is NOT a medical status—and this is coercive. https://t.co/hfIQhMgNjP
— NARAL (@NARAL) November 6, 2019
This is absolutely disgusting and perverted and vile and ignorant and just plain wrong. TI is a sick, controlling narcissist and there is absolutely NO way Deyjah, her mother or any woman in TI’s life should be okay with this. https://t.co/tDjVdAoSom
— Candice Marie Benbow (@CandiceBenbow) November 6, 2019
What is the hymen?
The hymen is a thin piece of membrane that surrounds or partially covers the vaginal opening. It is usually present in childhood, but it undergoes changes during puberty, and its opening enlarges as girls grow.
It is often stretched, broken, or torn during the first intercourse, and the trauma may result in bleeding. However, sexual intercourse does not always break or tear the hymen. Sometimes repeated intercourse only stretches the hymen to make a larger opening or change its shape.
Although T.I. said his doctor told him that some forms of activities such as riding on a saddle and athletics could break the hymen, some authorities insist that these activities do not typically change the hymen.
Who is rapper T.I.?
Rapper T.I., whose real name is Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., was born in Alabama on September 25, 1980. He is 39 years old. He is a rapper, and he is considered to be among the pioneers of trap music.
He started rapping at a very young age. He attended Douglass High School but dropped out to pursue a career in music. He released his debut album I’m Serious in 2001 under Arista Records label.
He released his second album Trap Muzik in 2003. The album is best known for singles such as 24’s, Be Easy, Let’s Get Away, and his smash-hit Rubberband Man.
Other albums he’s released include Urban Legend (2004), King (2006), Paper Trail (2008), Paperwork (2014), Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head (2012), and Dime Trap (2018).
Many of his albums reached the top five of the Billboard 200 chart.
He is best known for hit singles such as Whatever You Like and Live Your Life, which hit the number one spot on Billboard Hot 100.
He has also appeared in movies such as American Gangster (2007), Ant-Man (2015), Roots (2016), and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).
He won the Best Male Hip-Hop Artist at the 2006 BET Awards.
He served one year and a day in prison in 2009 after he was arrested in 2007 for attempting to illegally purchase guns from a “cooperating witness” with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.