Rapper and actor T.I. has caused outrage online after revealing in a podcast interview that he takes his 18-year-old daughter to the doctor to "check her hymen" and make sure it's "still intact".
The controversial interview happened on Ladies Like Us with Nazanin Mandi and Nadia Moham. Other topics covered in the discussion included his parenting style.
When asked by the hosts if he's had the "sex talk" with his daughters, he revealed that despite being in her first year of college, he regularly checks to see if 18-year-old Deyjah Harris' hymen is intact.
"Not only have we had the conversation - we have yearly trips to the gynecologist to check her hymen," T.I. said. "Yes, I go with her."
"So we'll go and sit down and the doctor comes and talk, and the doctor’s maintaining a high level of professionalism," T.I. said. "He's like, 'You know, sir, I have to, in order to share information' - I'm like, 'Deyjah, they want you to sign this so we can share information. Is there anything you would not want me to know? See, Doc? Ain't no problem.'"
"And so then they come and say, 'Well, I just want you to know that there are other ways besides sex that the hymen can be broken like bike riding, athletics, horseback riding, and just other forms of athletic physical activity,'" he said.
"So I say, 'Look, Doc, she don't ride no horses, she don't ride no bike, she don't play no sports. Just check the hymen, please, and give me back my results expeditiously.'"
He then added, "I will say, as of her 18th birthday, her hymen is still intact."
The rapper's decision to check his daughter's hymen when she is over the age of consent caused outrage online:
Following the public backlash, Deyjah, while not publically speaking out against her father's comments, liked a number of tweets criticizing him for continuing to have her hymen tested.
Prominent OB/GYN Dr. Jennifer Gunter also slammed TI in a series of tweets, writing: "The hymen is no virginity indicator, 50% of sexually active teens do not have a disrupted hymen."
"The hymen means nothing physically and hymen exams are medically not a thing and are unnecessary," she added. "And support a disgusting patriarchal trope."
The practice of "virginity testing" has also been denounced by the World Health Organization, describing it as "a violation of the human rights of girls and women."