What to Know
- Remy Ma has been arrested on assault charges for allegedly attacking a reality television personality in New York City last month
- Police say the 38-year-old rapper, whose real name is Reminisce Smith, turned herself in on Wednesday
- She's accused of punching her "Love & Hip Hop New York" co-star Brittney Taylor in the face during an April 16 concert at Irving Plaza
Grammy-nominated Remy Ma, who served six years in jail for shooting an acquaintance in 2007, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly attacking a reality television personality during a concert.
The 38-year-old Ma, whose real name is Remy Smith, was released on $1,500 bail after being arraigned on assault charges. She's accused of punching her "Love & Hip Hop New York" co-star Brittney Taylor in the face during an April 16 concert at Irving Plaza.
The victim reported the incident the next day and claimed she sustained bruising to her right eye, police said. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Josh Hanshaft ordered Ma to stay away from Taylor while the case proceeds.
Ma's lawyer, Dawn Florio, said her client denies the allegations and is going to fight the charges.
"The complainant (Taylor) is a liar, and my client did not touch her," said Florio, adding that there were numerous witnesses to the alleged incident in the green room at Irving Plaza.
Florio said that although the rapper was at the benefit concert on the night in question, she was home with her husband, nursing their infant, at the time of the alleged 9:30 p.m. incident. Florio said the home has surveillance cameras.
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"This arrest demonstrates how serious this matter is, it is real life and not reality TV entertainment," Taylor's lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, said in a statement. "The victim Brittney Taylor has confidence in our system of justice and will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities."
Ma, nominated for a Grammy as part of the Terror Squad's 2004 hit "Lean Back," was convicted of assault and other charges in the shooting of acquaintance Makeda Barnes-Joseph outside a nightclub in 2007.
The two were celebrating a birthday with friends in Manhattan's trendy meatpacking district when the rapper accused Joseph of stealing money from her pocketbook.
Ma, gun in hand, demanded to search Joseph's purse when they were both in the front seat of the victim's Cadillac Escalade. Joseph refused, and a struggle began. The gun went off twice, with two bullets hitting Joseph in the abdomen.
Florio, who said the rapper has been "the absolutely perfect parolee" during her nearly five years on parole, said the allegations had spurred parole officers to tighten her parole conditions, including by requiring her to wear an ankle monitor and setting her curfew earlier.
Ma is due back in court May 24.
