Rapper T.I. got arrested in Georgia after he allegedly got into an altercation with a security guard in his own gated community, but he's implying that racism was at the heart of the arrest.
T.I. is pursuing legal action against his home owner's association, The Blast is reporting.
TMZ reported that T.I. — real name Clifford Harris — was trying to get into his house in the early hours of Wednesday morning, but he didn't have his key. A security guard at the guard shack initially wouldn't let them in either, the online report says.
However, the website said the rapper was eventually allowed into his gated community after an initial argument with the guard. He then allegedly returned on foot afterward to confront the guy again. During that argument, things got heated, TMZ said, and the police were eventually called.
T.I. was booked into the Henry County Jail for simple assault, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness, records indicated.
He was eventually released without bail.
The rapper spoke to The Blast after he was released from jail and said he got locked up because he's an affluent African-American celebrity and police near his home are "white cops in a very white area."
T.I. claims the whole thing started because he was returning home from the studio and noticed the security guard allegedly asleep in the guard shack. He says he called out the guard for sleeping on the job, and a "very heated debate" ensued, but nothing ever became physical — "may have been hurt by my words," T.I. told The Blast.
Still, he claims the security guard, who was African-American, "antagonized" him and had "every opportunity" to apologize for sleeping, but the guy refused.
After T.I. was released, he celebrated his son Major's 10th birthday at his school.
In a video posted to The Blast, T.I. called the arrest "nonsense," and said he was "inconvenienced."
"With all I've been through, this is small potatoes, man," he said. "We're gonna let God deal with the craziness."