T.I. Redeems His Comments About Chris Brown And Rihanna: “My Only Intentions Were To Morally Support Them Both”

Clifford Joseph Harris Jr, also known as T.I., wants to clear up any misunderstanding as to where he stands amid the mess between Chris Brown and Rihanna. “My heart goes out to both of them,” he told Fancast, adding that he “wants to see them both move past this situation.”

The rapper/actor recently came under fire after making comments on Last Call With Carson Daly that seemed more supportive of Chris Brown. “He’s cool, you know,” T.I. told Daly. “I guess he’s a little concerned about the situation. But he’s still the same old Chris.” Soon after the show aired, T.I. released a statement saying he “made a mistake of commenting before understanding the situation.”

In an interview tonight, he stressed “my only intentions were to morally support them both. I know them both personally and I have a lot of respect for them both as people outside of this situation. I must remember a person for how I know them to be. I just want them to rise above and move past this situation, and get back to being great.”

“I think that Rihanna is a beautiful, intelligent and outstanding young lady, and I think Chris is a genuinely good-hearted guy,” he continued. “I don’t know none of the facts and I can’t speak on their behalves. I’m not his representation in any shape, form, or fashion, but I know what it’s like to go through some adversity and have everyone turn their back on you.”

Indeed, the rapper, who has released six albums and nine top 10 singles, is waiting to begin a year-long jail term stemming from a 2007 arrest for possessing unregistered machine guns. Part of his tough sentence included 1,000 hours of community service, some of which is documented in his MTV reality series T.I.’s Road To Redemption, which premiered February 10. He said he’s “looking forward to moving on…just putting this all behind [me] and closing this chapter.”

On his show, T.I. delivers that same message to troubled youths as he sets them on a better path. He believes the kids have been helped. “I’m actually impressed with their progress,” he said. “For them to be so passionate about turning their lives around at such an early age is impressive to me. When I was that age I was a mess.”

Even as he closes this chapter of his life, the rapper assures fans that he’ll remain the same old T.I. “I plan on continuing what got me here,” he said, referring to music and not machine guns. “I’m continuing doing what put me in a position to be on my sixth album and have the most successful album of my career.”

“I will continue putting out music and putting 100% of myself into it,” he added. “I will continue to work diligently at creating opportunities for people around me. I’m going to continue to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves to me. More music, more movies, more money, more fashion.”

That’s right, fashion. T.I.’s idea is to try to “put together a line that’s fly enough for those that can’t put together a line for themselves.” Right now the objective is to start with men’s clothes, but eventually he claims he’ll move on to “women, babies, and pets.” Yes, pets. That means be on the lookout for dog collars fit for a King in early 2010.

He called his recent Grammy performance with Justin Timberlake a “collaborative effort.” “Me and JT are cool,” he said. “Ever since we did ‘My Love,’ we’ve stayed in touch. It was pretty much a no-brainer for us to get together again. He’s a cool cat. I have a lot of respect for him.”

If either Brown or Rihanna wants counseling, T.I. is available. “I wish them both the best,” he says. “Anything I can do to help them get to the other side of this situation, either one of them, then I am eager to do so.” The thing is, he may actually know what he’s talking about. “Through adversity comes strength,” he says. “With God all things are possible. Find the message in the misery.”

T.I.’s Road To Redemption airs Tuesdays at 9:30 PM ET on MTV.

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