A few weeks ago, we were treated to the revelation that T.I. forces his eldest daughter, Deyjah, to go to the gynecologist every year to make sure her hymen is still intact. This raised our eyebrows on multiple levels: his control over his 18-year-old daughter’s body, the disproven idea that a broken hymen means someone has lost their virginity, the fact that this was all coming from “Blurred Lines†rapper T.I. Well, the rapper and his wife, Tameka “Tiny†Harris, went on Red Table Talk to answer to Jada Pinkett Smith, and we don’t know if we have more or fewer questions now. “What the hell’s going on?,†Pinkett Smith asked about what T.I. now seems to call “Hymen-gate.†You see, he was having the conversation “in a very joking manner,†and “from a place of truth, I began to embellish and exaggerate,†the rapper and reality star claims. “I think a lot of people kind of like took it extremely literal,†he adds. But what are we supposed to do when you’re coming from a place of truth?
“I honestly thought people knew me better than that,†said a man who has definitely only rapped about respecting women. He went on to explain, “Never said I was in any exam room. That is an assumption, that is a falsity. … I never said that it was being done present-day, as an 18-year-old … And I never said that her mother wasn’t present.†Which makes us wonder: Why didn’t you just say that the first time? “There was never any objection†from Deyjah about the appointments, he added, but “she did have a problem with me talking about it, however.†You don’t say! As Pinkett Smith proceeded to explain the difference between protecting and controlling one’s daughter, T.I. added that part of his worry stemmed from the way “lines are being blurred†with how the internet depicts love and sex. You really can’t make this stuff up.
Clearly unable to stop talking, T.I. later explained, “Your childhood ends when you lose your virginity … And I can’t let you run around trying to enjoy the luxuries of adulthood without any of the responsibilities of adulthood.†When Pinkett Smith and her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones (Willow was away for this episode), said they thought T.I. would be more lenient with a son, he said he’s more protective of his daughter because “the household is changed immediately†if she gets pregnant and not necessarily so if one of his sons gets someone pregnant.
Did this appearance really clarify anything? We don’t know, but you can watch part one (God help us) of the Red Table Talk episode below and decide for yourself.