UPDATE (April 28, 2022):

Benzino has released a statement to XXL in response to Shauna Brooks' claims that he pursued the transgender model sexually.

"It’s obvious this animal is doing anything to stay relevant and for clout," the statement starts. "First he said I was trying to hide the fact that we were intimate and in a relationship, and now he said we never were intimate and only spoke on the phone. Also I want people with common sense to recognize that he tagged Mona Scott begging to be on Love and Hip Hop. One more thing I want people to notice is that 50 [Cent] erased everything he posted about me off his page. He never does that. Listen, I been in this culture we call game for 40 + years and I love the culture. I don't judge people by who they sleep with, I don’t play with peoples' reputations but unfortunately we are living in a time where clout and attention rules over truth and respect."

ORIGINAL STORY:

Transgender model Shauna Brooks claims that she turned down Benzino's sexual advances.

In an interview with Jazzy McBee on Streetz 94.5 in Atlanta that aired on Wednesday (April 27), Shauna Brooks explained that she and Benzino first established a friendship via phone calls and text messages, but eventually, the Boston-bred rapper wanted to take things further. Brooks said that Benzino wanted to engage in an intimate relationship with her, but she turned down his advances due to what she considers to be "sloppy" behavior.

"It didn't progress on my terms," said Brooks around the 7-minute mark of the interview. "It was on my terms. I denied the advances."

When asked why she turned Benzino down, Shauna Brooks said that she felt a certain type of way when he hit her up on one night in particular while ’Zino was up late with a stripper.

"Okay so one night, he calls me at 2 [o'clock] in the morning, and sloppy seconds again, he has a stripper over there," Shauna continued. "He's showing the stripper my pictures. He's like, 'I want you to come, you know that's one of my fantasies.' I said, 'Why would you do that? Why would you show my pictures?' I don't understand why he's showing me around to other people in your bed on your pillow time talk."

From there, Brooks expanded on her claims that she denied Benzino and also gave some insight as to why she recently leaked audio from her phone conversations with the Made Men rapper. She implied that Benzino had become upset with the possibility of their undefined relationship going public and began to threaten the transgender model's life.

"I'm a smart girl, I can't rock with you like that," said Brooks. "You known for being crazy. You already done threatened my life and said you was going to kill me. That was the reason why I released it anyways."

Benzino has continually denied having anything more than a friendship with Shauna Brooks. Her claims arrive following a recent interview with Benzino on The Danza Project, which dropped on April 19. In the interview, ’Zino explained why the whole ordeal with Shauna Brooks, and any involvement with the LGBTQ+ community for that matter, is so troublesome to him personally.

"You never want to go through people thinking that you're gay when you're not," said Benzino. "Like, I just, and people are like 'Well if it ain't true then you should...' Man, fuck all thizzat. Like you don't want to be accused of being gay. I just don't want that, bro. Like, I take that serious, I do get upset about that. Like get on the internet, none of that's bothering me no more but, like, to think that somebody really thinks or really thought that I really hooked up with Shauna, like, bothers the fuck out of me. Straight up."

The recent back-and-forth between Benzino and Shauna Brooks stems from an incident back on April 13, in which 50 Cent hit up Instagram to troll ’Zino with a series of seemingly homophobic posts. Fif aired out the aforementioned phone calls between Brooks and Benzino while throwing shots at both ‘Zino and former G-Unit member Young Buck for their connections to transgender women. 

XXL has reached out to Benzino for comment.

Watch Shauna Brooks' full interview with Streetz 94.5's Jazzy McBee below. Fast-forward to the 7-minute mark to hear her discuss her relationship with Benzino.

Watch Benzino's full interview on The Danza Project below. Fast-forward to the 25-minute mark to hear him discuss his thoughts on the LGBTQ+ community.

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