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Rapper Nelly Arrested For Alleged Sexual Assault

Nelly was taken into custody early Saturday morning after a woman called 911.
Scott Dudelson
/
Getty Images
Nelly was taken into custody early Saturday morning after a woman called 911.

Updated Saturday 4:15 p.m

Nelly, the rapper behind hits "Hot In Herre" and "Ride Wit Me," was arrested Saturday morning for alleged sexual assault during a tour stop in Washington state.

The Auburn Police Department said in a statement that a woman called 911 at 3:48 a.m. Saturday and said she was assaulted by Nelly, whose given name is Cornell Haynes Jr. After a police investigation, Nelly was taken into custody an hour later.

The St. Louis rapper was touring with country act Florida Georgia Line and was slated to perform in Ridgefield, Wash., on Saturday night.

The musician's lawyer, Scott Rosenblum of St. Louis, issued a statement in which he called the allegation "completely fabricated" and "scurrilous." Rosenblum told NPR that Nelly is no longer in police custody, and has not yet been charged.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.