S. Samuel
Incarcerated rapper T.I. continues to catch heat behind bars with reports claiming he is being hit by a lawsuit over exposing a dead corpse on his 2009 television series "T.I.'s Road to Redemption."
According to reports, the ‘King of the South” and MTV are both named in the suit.
The relatives of a dead man whose body was filmed in Atlanta by rapper T.I. have sued the artist, complaining that the airing of the corpse on television was disrespectful and done without their consent. The suit, filed by the family of Joseph Williams, contends that his father, Joseph Williams Sr., and other relatives suffered mental distress after footage of his body was shown in a February 2009 episode of the MTV reality show “T.I’s Road to Redemption.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Within the cited episode, Tip used the corpse as an illustration of a possible consequence dealing with a criminal lifestyle.
In the first episode, entitled “You Are Responsible For Your Own Actions,” Harris shows a young man a corpse at Haugabrooks. A mortician says the man was a “hustler” and says the man’s parents don’t know how he really died. The face of the dead man is out of focus in the video that was available online at MTV’s websiteFriday. (Creative Loafing Atlanta)
An unspecified amount in damages is reportedly being requested by the plaintiffs.
Moreover, they accused the funeral home’s employee of giving a false fact that they “didn’t know what happened to their son.” In the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, February 9 in Fulton County State Court, they sued MTV, the rapper and the funeral home for carelessly mishandling the body “for financial gain and publicity”. They seek an unspecified amount of damages for the mental anguish. (Ace Showbiz)
In the premiere “Road to Redemption” episode, Tip took a man named “Pee Wee” throughout various areas to show him a criminal lifestyle is not worth the risks.
“We’re gonna shake his world up a little bit and we’re gonna help him, whether he wants our help or not” Tip tells the camera referring to Pee Wee. “I’ll make a deal with ya, [Pee Wee]. I’ll take some of your advice if you take some of mine…You ever been to jail before? It took me going to jail so many different times, seeinig that I was wrong, learning from my mistakes, trial and error, rather than having someone tell me ‘You’re making a mistake,’ and learning from that.” (“Road to Redemption”)
T.I. is currently serving 11 months behind bars on a drug possession conviction.
Check out a portion of T.I.’s “Road to Redemption” below:
