Rappers often like to cultivate a tough guy reputation, but nobody wants to look this tough…
Andre Roxx, who has performed with Wu-Tang Clan-affiliated crew Killa Beez, has had his lawsuit thrown out after a judge found that he’d taken too long to bring the issue before the court, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
A 2014 report by TMZ, and other outlets, had claimed that a “rapper affiliated with Wu-Tang Clan was rushed to the hospital early Wednesday after he cut off his penis and then jumped off a second story balcony” — the articles misreported the rapper as Roxx, when in actual fact the real victim/culprit was another rapper by the name of Christ Bearer.
Gannet Company, CBS Interactive, Viacom, IHeartMedia, and other companies were also implicated in the suit.
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Unfortunately for Roxx, the judge found that since the cause of action arose while the complainant was based in Pennsylvania, that state’s one-year statute of limitations applied. Roxx filed the suit two years after the reports made the news in 2014.
“When the false news report came out in April 2014, Plaintiff was threatened, harassed, and attacked by other inmates at the Pennsylvania prison where he was being held, requiring him to go into protective custody in that same prison,” the judge wrote, adding that “Pennsylvania has the most significant relationship to Plaintiff’s cause of action.”
Roxx, real name Marques Andre Johnson, has been documenting on YouTube how his life changed since the false reports named him. In one video, he explains that he “can appreciate the comedic value of this situation” but is getting tired of hearing the same jokes, especially the ones relating to his last name.
In another video, he talks about the challenges he faces and says he regularly gets recognized as “the guy who cut his penis off” and is often harassed, clowned and grabbed at in public.
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He says it’s also been tough to book shows as a rapper, with promoters telling him, “It’s not about what’s true. It’s about what the world thinks is true.”
If Roxx needs a bright side to look on, at least he still has a penis.
