TMZ issued a public apology for publishing details of the Medical Examiner’s report on the cause of the death of T.I.’s older sister Precious Harris Chapman (born Antoinette Chapman), who died in a car crash last February in Atlanta.
According to initial reports, Precious Harris Chapman’s car crashed after she suffered an asthma attack while driving.
But on Thursday, TMZ published a report on the toxicology results issued by the Fulton Country Medical Examiner on Wednesday, June 5, which stated that the cause of Chapman’s death was “cocaine toxicity which aggravated hypertensive cardiovascular disease (high blood pressure).”
According to the report, Chapman, who had a history of diabetes, kidney disease, and hypertension, became unconscious while driving.
The car veered off the road and crashed into a telephone pole. Chapman died nine days later at the Grady Memorial Hospital after her family decided to remove her from life support.
T.I. reacted to TMZ’s disclosure of the M.E.’s findings with an angry statement on Instagram Live. In his statement, T.I. accused TMZ’s managing editor Harvey Levin of tarnishing his sister’s legacy.
He also called for a boycott of TMZ.
“As long as you’ve known me, Harvey, I’ve been respectful, I’ve been cordial, I been polite, I been kind, I been fair. You just burned that bridge,” T.I. said. “I hope your story was worth it. You just burned a bridge. To not just me, but everybody around me. All my family. Anybody who stand with me, anybody who stood with Precious… will not stand with you.”
Following T.I.’s angry comments on Instagram, TMZ published a statement admitting that their article was “inappropriate and wrong.”
In the statement published yesterday, TMZ apologized to Chapman’s family for publishing the Medical Examiner’s report, saying “We got this wrong and we regret posting the M.E.’s findings.”
TMZ also wrote that: “T.I. and his family are hurt and furious, and they have a point.”
TMZ then proceeded to highlight Precious Harris’ achievements and positive contributions to her community during her lifetime, touching on her mentoring of young children, including supporting Motherless Daughters and the Covenant House and starting the Precious Academy.