Why did Wendy Williams claim Tupac had been raped in prison? Here's how the late rapper responded to wild rumors
One of the most impactful television and media personalities, Wendy Williams, is getting a biopic of her own. Lifetime is releasing 'Wendy Williams: The Movie' in January starring Ciera Payton as Williams. Williams herself is credited as an executive producer and the film will feature some of the highs and lows of her life and career as it tracks her way from the radio to becoming the host of her nationally syndicated show, 'The Wendy Williams Show' which she has been a part of since 2008.
One of the reasons Williams rose to prominence was her many public spats with celebrities including Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man and late rapper, Tupac Shakur. The spat with Tupac got so bad that Tupac even released a diss track against Williams, spouting many insults.
What did Wendy Williams say about Tupac Shakur?
In 1995, Wendy Williams spread a rumor that Tupac had been raped, while he was in prison, leading to a nasty public feud between the two celebrities. Reports suggest that while "it is not clear why Williams spread the rumor about Tupac. She is, however, well known for making controversial statements about celebrities."
In November 1993, Tupac was charged with three other men for sexually assaulting a woman in his hotel room in New York. The woman, Ayanna Jackson, had alleged that after consensual oral sex in his room one day, she returned on another day but was raped by him and three other men.
Tupac continued to deny that he had raped her, but was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse and was acquitted of associated sodomy and gun charges. In February 1995, he was sentenced to 18 months and four-and-a-half years in prison by the judge. In October 1995, he was released from prison once Suge Knight (former music executive and co-founder and CEO of Death Row Records) arranged for paying bond charges of $1.4 million. However, Tupac went to prison again following his spat with Williams in 1996, when he was sentenced to120 days in jail for violating his release terms from October 1995, as he failed to appear for road cleanup. The sentence was later deferred.
After Williams alleged that Tupac had himself been raped after going to jail for the rape charges, Tupac was fuming. He said in an interview, "I got a beef with Wendy Williams saying I got raped in jail because that disrespected me, my family and what I represent."
How did Tupac Shakur respond to Wendy Williams' rumor?
On being released from prison, Tupac released the track 'Why U Turn On Me'. While the original track contained Wendy Williams' name in the lyrics, it has since been bleeped out. In the harsh lyrics, Tupac fat-shamed her and said some other nasty things. One verse in the track goes, "Said I got raped in jail, picture that? [*laughter*] / Revenge is a payback b*tch, get your gat / F**k [Wendy Williams] and I pray you choke / On the next dick down your throat / For turnin' on me." Other lyrics went, "I'm about to put a twenty-thousand dollar, hit / Through Jenny Craig to come find yo' a**."
'Wendy Williams: The Movie' will premiere on Lifetime on Saturday, January 30, at 8 PM ET.