Sorry, not sorry?
Rihanna’s former publicist, Jonathan Hay, is apologizing for starting the infamous rumor that Jay Z cheated on his wife, Beyonce, with the then rising star. His apology comes on the heels of celebrity biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli’s tell-all Becoming Beyoncé: The Untold Story, in which Hay is outed as having planted the rumor.
However, according to the New York Daily News, Hay had previously apologized to Queen Bey for the gossip he first spread in 2005, out of “desperation,” in order to create a buzz around RiRi’s “Pon de Replay.”
“I apologized to her…. this whole thing is very awkward,” Hay said. “I was blindsided by the news of Becoming Beyoncé coming out and it couldn’t come at a worse time for me. I’m currently releasing projects with my label Urban Hitchcock through Tidal, a company that is owned by Jay Z and Beyoncé … Hopefully this news hasn’t ruined that relationship for me.”
“The PR stunt that I did was out of desperation to help break ‘Pon de Replay,'” Hay continued. “It was reckless and I didn’t think it was going to work. I was just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what would stick.”
According to Taraborrelli’s book, the rumor caused a major rift between the A-list couple, which they responded to with a year-long split.
“I didn’t think it would be this big story,” Hay added. “But now, seeing Beyoncé on the cover of this book and knowing that people are profiting from speculations and opinions about her really turns my stomach. I’m ashamed that I’m even talking about this. I just want to put this rumor to rest once and for all.”
Taraborrelli adds that Jay Z only had one comment about the rumor. “Dude, she’s a minor,” the rapper reportedly said at the time about Rihanna, who was then 17. Needless to say, people ate up the rumors for years following, even alleging that the Barbadian beauty was upset when the Carters welcomed Blue Ivy.
We’ve all heard some crazy publicity stunts, but Hay’s little stunt definitely takes the cake.
