In early November, T.I. revealed that he actively monitored his teenage daughter’s hymen, igniting a firestorm of deserved condemnation.
In a new video, he sat down with Jada Pinkett Smith to try to explain and even justify his gynecological helicopter parenting.
A lot of people think that T.I. was being intrusive and abusive for policing his daughter’s hymen.
A lot of people think that he frankly belongs in jail for that. But the Smith family decided to bring him in to discuss it on Red Table Talk.
“I began to embellish and exaggerate and I think a lot of people took it extremely literal,” T.I. says of his infamous hymen statements.
“I honestly thought people knew me better than that,” he complains. His wife, Tiny, was there to support him.
“My intentions have been terribly misconstrued and misconceived,” T.I. claims.
“I never said I was in any exam room, that is an assumption, that is a falsity,” he adds.
“I never said it was being done present day, as an 18-year-old,” T.I. asserts. “And I never said that her mother wasn’t present.”
“Her mom was present,” he clarifies. “This false narrative has just been sensationalized.”
“She did have a problem with me talking about it and I am incredibly apologetic to her about it,” T.I. confesses.
He explains: “She understands my intention, she knows who I am and who I’ve always been.”
“The outside, the noise is distracting, it’s confusing and it’s hurtful and embarrassing, he complains.
Of course, the core problem still seems to be that T.I. fails to understand the depth of his error. It’s more than just talking about it.
Jada acknowledges that she’s spoken to Will about some casual statements that are out of line.
“He says the craziest stuff,” she says. “We educate that joker before he leave the house.”
“He’s one of those that likes to tell stories and sometimes goes too far,” Jada says. “Willow has gone at her dad several times for very insensitive comments.”
She notes: “Whether it was around menstruation, or ‘You must be PMS-ing.’ She’s like, ‘That right there, we’re not gonna do that!'”
Speaking of Willow, T.I. expresses that he is “so sorry Willow couldn’t make it.”
Jada replies: “You know what TIP, I think you might be happy in the long run.”
That is easily the best part of the entire discussion.
You know that Willow would have given him a piece of her mind without the kid gloves that her mom used. We’d have loved to see it.
T.I. tries to clarify: “I’m not there to protect virginity, I just know that is a big move.”
He explains: “Once you make that move there are things that happen that follow, you have to be equipped and I don’t know if you’re equipped.”
“Awareness is my first line of defense,”: T.I. claims, as if that could justify his medical intrusion.
“That’s different, that’s education,” Jada tells him. “You only have so much control.”
Adrienne, Jada’s stunningly gorgeous mother, points out that T.I. would certainly behave differently over his son’s virginity.
“If my son goes out and gets a girl pregnant, how is the household changed for those nine months?” T.I. tries to explain.
“My household is not necessarily changed those 9 months,” he reasons.
“Whereas, if my daughter comes home, my household is changed immediately. So the stakes are higher,” T.I. opines in the weirdest justification of sexism, ever.
It’s wonderful to see the Smith family — who remain the best family in Hollywood, possibly the planet — educate T.I.
He learns some things about hymens, and he does apologize for embarrassing his daughter.
But the core issue is that he should never, ever have done this examination in the first place. If his daughter wants him to know, she’ll tell him.
Want to make sure that your teenage daughter doesn’t get pregnant? Buy her an IUD or whatever birth control she prefers, and make sure she has cash.
