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Rick Ross is speaking out after the rapper was arrested for domestic abuse charges.
The seasoned artist was booked at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Thursday morning, October 1, for misdemeanor domestic battery and battery by strangulation in connection with an incident that happened in Miami Beach last month. According to WSVN, Ross appeared in front of Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. Ross spoke to reporters outside of the jail after he posted his bond.
“I’m totally innocent of these fabricated allegations made against me," he said. "I repeat, I’m totally innocent of these fabricated allegations made against me.”
“Of course it’s totally fabricated," Ross replied to one reporter. “What my weekend looks like, I’ll be in Dubai tomorrow, Paris Saturday and I plan on having a bowl of rigatoni with heavy marinara Sunday. I repeat, rigatoni, heavy marinara. Thank you all for your time. Enjoy your day.”
According to a press conference held by the Miami Beach Police Department, Ross and his ex-girlfriend, Jazzma Kendrick, got into a verbal dispute over an Instagram post she was tagged in on August 28. Kendrick told police last week that Ross slapped her in the face every time she denied being in a relationship with the person who tagged her. She also claimed Ross hit her and struck her in the chest several times, which caused breathing issues. She also accused him of busting her lip open after he grabbed her by her ponytail and slammed her head into the ground.
During his hearing, Ross' attorney, Bradley Horenstein, requested to expedite his release due to his celebrity status. Judge Glazer maintained she didn't recognize the rapper and only knew him "as somebody here in the court who’s going to be treated fairly, just like everybody here." Ross was arrested days after Kendrick shared images of the alleged abuse on his Instagram Story. She claimed he "saw me as a punching bag" and said she left him the day he allegedly hit her.
"William Roberts II, professionally known as Rick Ross, is being wrongfully accused by an ex-girlfriend whose true motivations are unclear," his defense attorneys Bradley Horenstein and Steve Sadow said in a statement to iHeartRadio. "The ex did not even file a police report until a month after the claimed incident allegedly took place. Mr. Roberts is innocent and has pled not guilty to the charges. He respectfully requests that his friends, fans and the general public not prejudge the situation and allow the judicial process to run its course."
Ross continued to maintain his innocence on his Instagram Story. See what he had to say below.