Rapper Nelly arrested for alleged sexual assault

Nelly, the multi-platinum-selling hip-hop star, has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman, TMZ reports.

The 42-year-old from Austin, Texas, whose real name is Cornell Haynes, is currently on tour with country band Florida Georgia Line.  

The alleged incident occurred early this morning on the rapper's tour bus in the Washington state area, and he was arrested on second degree rape charges at around 7am.

Haynes’s lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, firmly denied the allegation.

“Nelly is the victim of a completely fabricated allegation,” he said in a statement to Variety. “Our initial investigation clearly establishes this allegation is devoid of credibility and is motivated by greed and vindictiveness. I am confident, once this scurrilous accusation is thoroughly investigated, there will be no charges. Nelly is prepared to address and pursue all legal avenues to redress any damage caused by this clearly false allegation.”

According to reports, the rapper, who is supposed to be performing in Ridgefield, Washington tonight, is still in police custody. 

This isn't Haynes's first run-in with the law: the Grammy Award winner was arrested in 2015 in Tennessee on felony drug charges, while in 2012, authorities discovered marijuana, heroin and a loaded gun on his tour bus at a border patrol checkpoint in west Texas. 

Haynes first shot to fame with the release of his album Country Grammar in 2000. The record has sold 8.4 million copies in the USA and reached number one in the Billboard charts.