Nelly has apologized hours after posting an explicit video to social media. The 47-year-old answered for publicizing a clip on his Instagram Story that appears to be of him engaged in a sex act with a woman. It was subsequently deleted. “I sincerely apologize to the young lady and her family, this is unwanted publicity for her/them,” he told TMZ in a statement on February 8. “This was an old video that was private and never meant to go public.” Nelly’s team also told the outlet they’re looking into a possible hacking. Representatives for Nelly did not immediately respond to Vulture’s request for additional comment. The rapper started trending on Twitter shortly after the clip was shared. He has not posted to Instagram since.
Sharing “nonconsensual pornography” is a punishable crime in most states and can also prompt civil suits. Nelly’s Instagram video comes on top of the rapper’s history of sexual-assault and misconduct allegations. He settled a sexual-assault lawsuit involving a woman who claimed he raped her on his tour bus in October 2017 and has been accused of assaulting two additional women in England in June 2016 and December 2017. He’s maintained his denial of the claims.
