Nelly was arrested, booked & released for raping a woman in Washington state

Nelly is still touring, which I didn’t know. I honestly thought he just lived in Atlanta and quietly built an empire, but he’s still touring, and he’s currently on the road with Florida Georgia Line. His latest tour brought him to Washington state over the weekend, which is why his tour bus ended up parked in a… Walmart parking lot. Now a woman claims that Nelly raped her on the tour bus. He was arrested, booked and released on rape charges this weekend.

Nelly has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman … TMZ has learned. Law enforcement sources tell us, a woman claims she was raped on the rapper’s tour bus — which was parked in a Walmart lot in Washington — where he’s been performing. Nelly is on a tour with Florida Georgia Line and they are set to perform Saturday night in Ridgefield, Washington.

We’re told the alleged rape occurred Saturday morning at 3:48 AM. We’re told she specifically said Nelly is the one who raped her. Nelly was booked on second degree rape charges Saturday morning at around 7 AM and released shortly after.

Nelly’s lawyer tells TMZ, “Nelly is the victim of a completely fabricated allegation. Our initial investigation, clearly establishes the allegation is devoid of credibility and is motivated by greed and vindictiveness. I am confident, once the scurrilous accusation is thoroughly investigated, there will be no charges. Nelly is prepared to pursue all all legal avenues to redress any damage caused by this clearly false allegation.”

[From TMZ]

Nelly’s manager and Nelly himself want us to know that he has not been charged with a crime, and that the police are still investigating what happened. He was released just after he was booked. TMZ followed up with this:

The woman who claims Nelly raped her says she had been partying with him before he forced her to have sex without a condom, but Nelly’s lawyer says he will expose her for what she is … a liar. We’ve learned the 21-year-old Seattle resident claims she met Nelly at a club in Washington, where she and her friends drank at his table and got “tipsy.” She says she was invited to an after-party and drove off with Nelly’s people. The woman says she was taken to Nelly’s tour bus.

She says she was in Nelly’s room with him when he tried to have sex with her and she said no. She claims Nelly told her to “shut up” and said he wanted to have sex with her without protection, which she says he did over her objections. The woman says, afterward, Nelly offered her money, but she declined, and then a woman came up and said, “You gotta go.” She kicked her off the bus and threw $100 at her.

Nelly’s lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, tells TMZ, “It does not surprise me that she wanted to have her story publicized. That is playbook 101 of a person with an agenda and clearly she has one. The agenda is money, fame and notoriety.” Rosenblum says he has an investigator on the case and “we will be able to show by objective evidence and unbiased witnesses that she has zero credibility.” The lawyer adds, “She’s a person who is making a dangerous, fraudulent allegation to accomplish her own goals.”

[From TMZ]

Well, if a condom wasn’t involved, that would make DNA testing from a rape kit pretty important, although we don’t know if she underwent a rape kit. So far, Nelly and his lawyers haven’t offered any argument that Nelly claims he did have consensual sex with the lady, they’re just branding her a liar and a fraud and that’s it. Statistically, it’s more likely that a woman coming forward and reporting rape to the police is telling the truth, so set a baseline for “believing the woman.” But, obviously, there is going to be further investigating by the police and we’ll see. Nelly used his Twitter to release a personal statement:

Let me say that I am beyond shocked that I have been targeted with this false allegation. I am completely innocent. I am confident that once the facts are looked at , it will be very clear that I am the victim of a false allegation.

— Nelly_Mo (@Nelly_Mo) October 7, 2017

I do want to apologize to my loved ones for the embarrassment and for putting myself in a situation where I could be victimized by this false and defaming allegation.

— Nelly_Mo (@Nelly_Mo) October 7, 2017

I also want to thank my fans for their unwavering support. They know me. I assure you I will be vindicated. And I assure you, I will pursue every legal option to address this defaming claim. Thank you

— Nelly_Mo (@Nelly_Mo) October 7, 2017