With the current charges against Nelly surrounding an alleged rape, the rapper's ex-girlfriend, singer Ashanti, has used her upcoming single as the perfect response to the matter.
TMZ caught up with Ashanti while she was seated in the Los Angeles airport when the video guy approached her saying "you saw the reports about Nelly, this crazy story right. He's saying it's not true. Is this the guy that you know? You were very close with him..I gotta ask."
Ashanti takes a moment, thinking about what to say where she responds, "I have a new song coming out, it's call "Say Less" and I think that...ugh...it sounds dope I just mixed it in Atlanta. That's what I was doing actually in Miami, recording records."
The cameraman then asks, "So "Say Less" is there some good behind that statement?" Ashanti then follows up saying it's just the name of the song.
"It's a message though," the TMZ cameraman says. Ashanti stays cool and assures him that her comments are "just a pitch" for her new record - that will feature TY Dolla $ign.
Ashanti and Nelly dated for 10 years, but neither has confirmed the exact date they broke up in 2010. When Ashanti was asked about the break-up back in 2015, she kept her response brief telling The Meredith Vieira Show that "sometimes when people have their own insecurities it allows them to act out of character. I've been betrayed."
The latest update on Nelly's rape allegations comes from his accuser claiming Nelly is bullying and intimidating her. The victim's attorney, Karen Koehler, warns Nelly that any verbal attacks can easily make his charges worse.
Adding "It is morally reprehensible for an accused person and his bully lawyer to issue derogatory and defamatory statements against a young alleged rape victim," Koehler writes in the letter. "It is also criminal -- in the State of Washington -- when those vicious attacks are issued in the form of threats."