Many were shocked and outraged when they heard that popular rapper/businessman, Jay Z, was cheating on his wife, Beyonce, with Rihanna. According to AllHipHop, Jonathan Hay (RiRi's publicist at the time) admitted to fabricating the rumor as a means of promoting her 2005 hit single, "Pon de Replay."
The news was revealed in a recently published book entitled Becoming Beyonce according to the New York Daily News.
In a statement, 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'. ... 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 the book, the rumor was so devastating the Beyoncé actually split up with Jay Z for a year in 2005.
In an email to the Daily News, Hay said he apologized to Beyoncé, and that the whole thing was "very awkward."
After his lucrative career as a publicist, Hay decided to begin producing his own music. He hopes the revelations about his dishonesty will not hinder his future musical success.
Hay recently released When Worlds Collide on the struggling music streaming service, Tidal, which is owned by Jay Z and Beyoncé. Any fallout from these recent revelations has yet to be seen.
Hay said,"I didn't think it would be this big story. 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."
He continued, "I'm ashamed that I'm even talking about this. I just want to put this rumor to rest once and for all."
