The Tragic Truth About Ashanti

After bursting onto the music scene in 2001, Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas has proven she's not going anywhere except up. Time and time again, the musician and actress has wowed fans with her incredible vocals and staying power. Although the truth about Ashanti's music career is long and varied, Ashanti herself has always spoken her mind and built up her own empire. Ashanti's accolades are wide-sweeping: She was the first female artist to occupy the top two positions on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, and her self-titled debut album sold 503,000 copies in its first week — making it the biggest first-week sales for a debut female R&B artist up to that point. However, Ashanti's life hasn't always been positive.

Ask any female artist who broke into the industry in the late '90s or early '00s, and she'll tell you: It was full of harsh conditions, rampant sexism, and way too many men ready to block your path to success — Ashanti dealt with all of these. From predatory producers to an incessant stalker, the "Foolish" singer has gone through her fair share of troubles. Here, we've rounded up some of the tragic truths about Ashanti.

When Ashanti was first discovered by producer Irv Gotti, Gotti was astounded by her vocal prowess. He wasted no time, placing her on the hooks of several songs by rappers in his repertoire. In 2002, Ashanti signed onto Gotti's record label — Murder Inc. — and saw her career goals come into view. However, Gotti proved to be a messy producer behind the scenes and sowed the seeds of a pernicious rumor that haunted Ashanti for decades.

In the early 2000s, Gotti went around telling people that he and Ashanti had been intimate, as well as boyfriend and girlfriend. Ashanti has consistently shot back at this, most recently in an interview on the "IRL" podcast, claiming he only started the rumor over hurt feelings that Ashanti was dating Nelly. "We dealt with each other, but was Irv my boyfriend? Was I his girlfriend? Never. ... Irv had several girlfriends, so I'm a little confused by the label and the description," the "Rain on Me" singer divulged. Gotti has also tried to go on the record saying that he's responsible for all of Ashanti's success, which led to her leaving his label to create her own. However, Gotti wasn't the only producer to harass Ashanti as her star rose.

While being interviewed by Charlamagne Tha God on "The Breakfast Club," Ashanti opened up about a harrowing time at the height of her career. After successfully making her two hit albums, "Ashanti" and "Chapter II," Ashanti mentioned that a producer attempted to insert himself into the creative process in an incredibly inappropriate way.

"We did two records together. He was like, 'Okay, you know I'm not gonna charge you.' ... And then when it came time to put on the album, he was like, 'Well, let's take a shower together.'" At this point, the "Stuck" star admitted she thought the man was making a vulgar joke, but it took a turn for the serious when the anonymous producer pushed back. Ashanti explained, "He's like, 'Nah, I'm dead serious. Like, you know, let's go out and let's take a shower together, and I'll give you the records. If not, I need [$40,000].'" Ashanti went on to add, "I had to make some phone calls, and you know, stuff was handled." A reminder that one of the essential facts to know about Ashanti is that she handles her business with fierce grace.

A disturbing legal battle that had dragged on since the early 2000s finally wrapped up for Ashanti in 2016. Amateur rapper Devar Hurd was found guilty of stalking the "Only U" singer back in 2009, but that didn't deter him from continuing his campaign of terror for several more years. In 2013, Hurd was found guilty of violating his restraining order against Ashanti and used this to leverage more time in court with the singer. Representing himself in 2016, Hurd forced Ashanti to take the stand and listen to him repeat vulgar texts he had sent her.

After several mistrials, Hurd was finally found guilty of second-degree felony stalking and was ushered back to jail. This closed a chapter in Ashanti's life that the "Don't Let Them" singer was ultimately incredibly grateful to see end. The disturbing behavior by Hurd definitely helps explain why we didn't hear from Ashanti for a while. Hopefully, with this chapter closed, she can return to the limelight in full force.

When beloved Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle passed away from gun violence, the whole hip-hop community felt it. But Ashanti had an even more personal reason for reeling from the devastating loss. In 2019, Ashanti admitted that she and Nipsey had been collaborating right before his untimely death and that the two were good friends. Speaking of his passing to ET, "He's such an amazing person and an amazing spirit, and he's done so much ... He had so much more that he was doing."

In sharing her text messages between herself and Nipsey, Ashanti revealed that she was supposed to go into the studio to work with him, but she had fallen ill. In true Nipsey Hussle form, he offered loving words of support and tender advice. When it was clear Ashanti was too sick to go into the studio, Ashanti detailed his response as such, "He was like, 'Oh, I got these herbs that are really good for you! I know where you can get some good stuff!' And he was sending me links and like, 'Sis, I got you, you gotta try this.' And it just made me sad because he was such an amazing spirit. His heart was pure, and he was always willing to help and always really positive." The loss of any future Ashanti and Nipsey Hussle collaborations is a true tragedy.

In 2020, Ashanti's younger sister, Kenashia Douglas, opened up about her history of living through an abusive relationship in a post on Instagram. Later, in 2022, Ashanti, Kenashia, and their mother, Tina Douglas, all sat down on "Red Table Talk" to discuss the horrific nature of what that time looked like in their family. During an intimate peek inside how domestic violence can often appear on the outside, Ashanti admitted to not quite understanding the nature of the relationship at first. Describing her younger sister, Ashanti said, "It's like you want your own stuff. So, there's certain things I felt like she might've put up with. And it was just like, how do you deal with this? What do we do now? No one gets a book on how to handle this."

Studies on domestic violence have shown that it often takes up to seven attempts to leave a violent partner — often with dangerous behavior escalating with each attempt. This can leave families fumbling on how to best support someone with leaving an abusive partner. Luckily for Kenashia, her family figured out how to best love her through that tumultuous time, coming out the other end celebrating her and supporting other abuse survivors. In a post for Domestic Abuse Awareness Month, Ashanti hyped up her sibling by saying, "My sister is a warrior! I love you deep and infinitely. Thank you for being so brave and bringing awareness to this evil, vile, and sad behavior that so many women face every day."

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.