T.I. Says Suicide Rescue Was Not a Publicity Stunt
Just two days after aiding police in convincing a man not to jump off the ledge of a 22-story building, T.I. will face a judge in Atlanta today to determine whether his probation should be revoked due to his arrest on drug charges in Los Angeles last month. The rapper denied yesterday that his talking to the suicidal man was a publicity stunt timed to coincide with the court date. “I didn’t know this guy, I didn’t wake up in the morning to say, ‘Hey let me find a way to go and save someone’s life so I can be looked at favorably come Friday.’ This is not something I could have planned,” T.I. said.
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“My situation never even became a thought in my mind in the process of dealing with this. It was just something that touched my heart,” T.I. added. “I believe that I have been put here for a purpose, and I believe that I have an ability to reach people that most people can’t reach, that I can turn lives around that other people, they can’t have the same affect. I think that God placed me here for that purpose.” T.I. said that he wasn’t aware of the suicidal man until he heard about the situation on the radio — urban contemporary station V-103 operates from the same building that the man (whose name has not been released) was threatening to jump from. T.I. spoke to V-103’s Ryan Cameron, who persuaded the rapper to come to the building to see if he could assist police.
The man’s mother called in to V-103 yesterday, calling the publicity stunt accusations “crazy” and saying, “I wish it was a publicity stunt and my son wasn”t hurting as bad as he is and to get up there and do something like that. It”s an embarrassment really and it”s like my God, thank God for T.I.!”
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T.I. told CNN that, today’s hearing aside, he would “never again” find himself in trouble with the law. “I’m tired, I’m wore out. I don’t have the age, the energy, or just the attitude to move forward and continuing in this cycle in this ongoing process of destruction and disparity in my life,” T.I. said. “I’ve got too many depending on me and counting on me.” Check back with Rolling Stone later today to see whether or not an Atlanta judge decides to revoke T.I.’s probation, a move that would likely send the rapper back to prison.