"He Started Sending Pictures Of My House": Ashanti Recalls Being Harassed By Convicted Stalker For Years
In "Stalking the Stars," the latest and final episode of Investigation Discovery's docuseries Hollywood Demons, the singer recounted the "unsettling" encounters that ultimately changed her life.
"I have some of the most amazing fans in the world, so I always try to be gracious, I always try to be courteous," Ashanti said per Entertainment Weekly. "But it does get a bit invasive."
She remembered receiving messages from an unknown man who craved to "be together." She stated, "In 2009, I was actually playing Dorothy in The Wiz on Broadway, and my mom was getting these pictures, texts."
According to EW, the docuseries also mentioned that the man, whose identity was unknown at the time, commented on her romantic relationship with Nelly and her various live performances, and even asked to be invited to her home.
"It makes you feel a little scared. 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 messages got] progressively turned into something deadly. 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. This is serious serious now. We made the decision, me, my parents, my family, to kind of get the law involved."
"I was doing a show in Chicago, and he felt like I locked eyes with him, and that was his open door," she added. Police later arrested an Indiana man named Devar Hurd, and he was sentenced to two years in prison in 2009 at Rikers. Devar reported sent countless sexually explicit messages, including photos of his genitals, to the singer's mom and manager, Tina Douglass, with hopes that the messages would get back to Ashanti.
"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," Ashanti continued. "But unfortunately, it kind of kept going on and on."
Despite Ashanti and her family being issued a no-contact order from the courts, Devar continued to break it after he was released. He sent more messages, photos, and even harassed Ashanti and her family via social media. Because that directly violated the no-contact order, Devar was arrested for stalking and aggravated harassment, and went back to trial in 2014. This time, he opted to represent himself.
"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," she added.
Due to a juror getting sick, it was eventually labeled a mistrial. But in 2016, Devar was convicted of a felony second-degree stalking charge, but was released just one year later.
The John Tucker Must Die star said the ordeal "changed my life...it's unsettling, it's disheartening, and it makes you question who's the victim. The feeling is hope that the rehabilitation happens, hope that he gets the message, and hoping that everything is done."
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