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Ashanti has opened up about how the “unsettling” years she endured being stalked by a fan changed her life.”
The “Rock Wit U” singer, 44, spoke about the “disheartening” experience on Monday’s episode of the Investigation Discovery docuseries “Hollywood Demons.”
“I have some of the most amazing fans in the world, so I always try to be gracious, I always try to be courteous, but it does get a bit invasive,” she said.
“In 2009, I was actually playing Dorothy in ‘The Wiz’ on Broadway, and my mom was getting these pictures, texts,” Ashanti continued, recalling that the sender declared that he wanted to “be together” with the singer.
According to the docuseries, the man commented on Ashanti’s live performances, disparaged her relationship with rapper Nelly, and even attempted to gain access to her home.
“It makes you feel a little scared,” Ashanti said. “This is a red line being crossed. Obviously, my family along with me, it’s kind of affecting everyone. They didn’t ask to be a part of this.”
The man’s messages “progressively turned into something deadly,” she added.
“He started sending pictures of my car, parked in the front of the theater. He started sending pictures of my house, aerial shots, shots of the front door,” she revealed.
“This is serious serious now,” the actress remembered thinking at the time.
“We made the decision, me, my parents, my family, to kind of get the law involved.”
After that, an Indiana man named Devar Hurd was arrested by law enforcement in 2009.
“I was doing a show in Chicago, and he felt like I locked eyes with him, and that was his open door,” the singer explained.
Though Hurd was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of sending unwanted sexual messages and stalking, he served only one year.
“In my situation, he was convicted, and we were hoping and praying that it was done. We felt that that was going to be it. But unfortunately, it kind of kept going on and on,” Ashanti shared.
Hurd continued to stalk the singer, ignoring a no-contact order he received after his conviction. After sending Ashanti pictures he took with her little sister, Kenashia Douglas, along with a series on messages on social media, he was indicted in 2013 for stalking and aggravated harassment.
Hurd represented himself in his subsequent trial — the second of the four stalking trials he faced between 2009 and 2016 — and cross-examined the “Baby” hitmaker.
“It’s really weird. It’s kinda like, to get what you want done, he gets what he wants, which is to be in your presence,” Ashanti confessed.
A mistrial was granted because of a juror illness, though Hurd would be convicted in 2016 for felony second-degree stalking. He received the maximum sentence of four years prison time but, as before, got out after just one year behind bars.
The painful experience “changed my life,” Ashanti said in the docuseries. “It’s unsettling, it’s disheartening, and it makes you question who’s the victim.”
Despite the pain, Ashanti today has “hope” for Hurd.
“[T]he feeling is hope that the rehabilitation happens, hope that he gets the message, and hoping that everything is done,” she explained.
“Stalking the Stars,” the final episode of Investigation Discovery’s “Hollywood Demons” series, premieres Monday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ID and streaming on Max.
English (US)