Charlamagne: God or Monster? The Haunting Tale of Jessica Nicole Reid
Jessica Nicole Reid wants the world to know that she was raped by Charlamagne tha God and she is using social media to tell her story.
Note: This article was originally published on BlackIsTheStandard.com on 6/8/2021. It has been republished here for archival purposes, with minor edits for clarity and formatting.
Trigger Warning: This article contains graphic details of alleged sexual assaults.
About twenty years ago today, in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, a then 15-year-old Jessica Nicole Reid reported that she’d been raped to emergency room staff. A few days later, she reported to the police that she’d been sexually assaulted. Lenard Larry McKelvey, known professionally as Charlamagne tha God, was one of the accused. Reid alleged that during a house party Charlamagne hosted, she was drugged and raped by the radio personality and at least two other individuals.
A rape kit was performed on Reid, and blood and saliva was later taken from Charlamagne, but no analysis was performed on the samples. Initial charges filed against Charlamagne included forcible rape and simple assault. However, Charlemagne would eventually plead guilty to the much lesser charge of “contributing to the delinquency of a minor” to which he received three years of probation.
Why did Charlamagne’s charges get reduced, you may wonder? Well, according to Reid’s mother, she didn’t want her daughter to suffer anymore trauma. She was a 15-year-old girl who claimed she was violated by someone she thought was a friend–someone both she and her mother trusted. So, to spare her daughter the pain of a trial, and the public scorn often directed to victims of sexual assault, Reid’s mother didn’t allow her to cooperate with the authorities, and I totally get it. However, because of this, the prosecution reduced the charges, and Charlamagne may never be able to be charged with Reid’s rape again.
Now, two decades later, a visibly haunted Reid is speaking her truth about her alleged experience with one of urban radio’s most notable stars. In a recent interview, Reid stated she became acquainted with Charlamagne through a mutual friend and that Charlamagne told her at the time that he was 20 (even though he was actually 22). The pair would eventually develop a friendship that in Reid’s eyes was like a brother/sister relationship. In fact, according to Reid’s mother, that is exactly how he presented himself when they met, promising he would look after her daughter. However, in a little over a month’s time, the “friendship” is alleged to have taken a turn that neither Reid nor her mother could have ever anticipated.
According to Reid, Charlamagne called her around June 8, 2001 to invite her to his birthday party. While initially declining the invitation, Reid claims that after some insisting on Charlamagne’s part, she eventually said yes. Malika Joyner, a family friend, agreed to attend the party with Reid.
During the interview, a visibly emotional Reid struggles while detailing her experience, often breaking into tears as she recalled the horrific details of the event. After gathering herself, Reid describes being driven by Charlamagne along with some of his friends and family to a place she refers to as “the ville” where the party was being held. She said after arriving, Charlamagne offered her and Malika drinks. Malika accepted the offer, but Reid stated that she declined. However, Reid claims that Charlamagne continued to insist that she take a drink (that he made), and feeling pressured, she eventually said yes.
Reid goes on to state that it was then that she decided to go to the bathroom, and was escorted upstairs to the bathroom by two men from the party who proceeded to violate her sexually, one forcing their fingers up her dress and inside of her vagina, while she was helpless to stop them.
“...and when I got up to go to the bathroom, I fell to the floor. I couldn’t move my legs…I couldn’t move my arms…it was like I had no control over my limbs. I could see and I could heard, but, I couldn’t move. So, I heard the guys in the back, and they was laughing… and Charlamagne was laughing…and he told them to take me upstairs. [I was] taken upstair by two guys, one named Larry and one named Boo…who took me into a bathroom and violated me and took advantage of me. Charlamagne allowed these guys to take me upstairs, in fact, he told them to take me upstairs.”
After being assaulted in the bathroom, Reid claims she fell to the floor, and was left there alone for some time, before someone came into the bathroom, picked her up, and carried her into the bedroom. She said they laid her on the bed and she was then left alone for a while until one of the individuals who assaulted her in the bathroom came in to sexually assault her again by rubbing his penis against her body. Reid claims all she could do at the time was try to roll her body back and forth, and by doing that, she fell off the bed. That was when the individual who was assaulting her left the room. She couldn’t recall how she got back on the bed, however, it was shortly afterward that Reid claims Charlamagne entered the bedroom.
Reid states that after entering the room, Charlamagne began to take off her dress, and while undressing her he said, “I told you I was gonna take care of you and nothing would happen to you.” She then goes to on say as she was crying, he attempted to quiet her, before beginning to perform oral sex on her. Then, Reid claims that Charlamagne raped her.
In a separate interview on the Star Report (2018) with Reid’s friend, Malika Joyner, Reid’s claims are corroborated. However, because Joyner alleges that she was also drugged, and was intoxicated and very sick at the time, she says she was unable to do anything to help Reid. Joyner claims that while Reid was being violated upstairs by the other men, Charlamagne tried to have his way with her, but because she had more wherewithal and control of her body, was unsuccessful, and eventually gave up. Later, when she was able to gather herself, Joyner claims she went upstairs to check on Reid after hearing a commotion upstairs. She claims that when she opened the bedroom door, she saw Charlamagne on top of a naked Reid. Joyner claimed after she entered the room, Charlamagne quickly jumped up, pulled up his pants, and left.
Sigh.
Y’all…I’m going to be honest, Jessica Reid’s interview was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever watched. The pain that she endured as a 15-year-old was visible as she recounted each detail–almost as if she was reliving each moment. I can’t fathom how anyone can fake that —how anyone can watch her tell her story and sense any deception. But, since the word of Black women is rarely enough, let’s take a look at who Charlamagne is via the persona he’s created or himself.
Over the years, Charlamagne has made a name for himself as one of the most unabashedly opinionated radio hosts in urban radio. From his start as a co-host for Wendy Williams to his current role as one of the hosts on the uber popular radio show, The Breakfast Club, Charlamagne is known to speak his mind, and hurt feelings in the process. However, it is that very lack of filter and couth when it comes to speaking his mind that may have come back to haunt him.
I’m no psychologist, but as a former psychology major, I recognize certain patterns. Charlamagne exhibits traits consistent with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)—a condition characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, a deep need for excessive attention, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy. When combined with patterns of sexual misconduct and misogyny, this creates a deeply concerning profile. It’s worth noting that NPD is one of the most common traits found in men who commit sexual violence.
Even the name he chose for himself raises eyebrows. “Charlamagne,” a variation of Charlemagne or Charles the Great, refers to the former King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans. Historical records suggest that Charlemagne engaged in incest with his sister and had a disturbing affinity for necrophilia. Whether Charlamagne tha God was aware of this connection when he adopted the name is unclear—but it’s difficult to believe any intelligent Black man would name himself after a white historical figure without doing some research.
Speaking of names– Charlamagne’s wife’s name just happens to be “Jessica”, and he’s admitted on his radio show that she claims (and he agrees) that he raped her—but I suppose that’s okay since they’re married. *insert eye roll emoji*
That ain’t it though. Back during the onset of the “me too” movement, Charlamagne made some disturbing tweets in regards to the infamous tape that allegedly shows disgraced singer, R. Kelly, raping a minor and subsequently urinating on them. Via his Twitter account, Charlamagne praised the tape, making a series of tweets, once stating “R Kelly had the best celebrity sex tape of all time!”
Still not convinced? Well, how about this disturbing video where Charlamagne seems to be praising R. Kelly’s ability to…well… you can watch it for yourself. In the same video, there’s also audio of him admitting to drugging another woman with “spanish fly”.[ The video is no longer available but please see the transcript below]
Charlamagne: Listen man, you just never know... Its a lot of gray areas when it comes to that shit man... a lot of gray area.
Andrew: yes there are gray areas but if you're unconscious you rape somebody, and thats plain and simple, and theres nothing you can do around that, if you're unconscious...even if she's drinking, even if she's tired b she ran a marathon that day... if she passes out and she's unconscious now and you fuck her, that's rape... Now, this is a weird thing that has been said to me by multiple girls actually, uh they go "you know what'd be fun, is we woke up in the morning, and you were like already fucking me..." I'm like, you mean raping you? WTF why you trying to get me caught up? Doesn't that sound like a set up? That's how I'm in jail for 10yrs because of some fantasy that you had. You never had a girl say that? Like how we just wake up...
Charlamagne: I remember a scenario in Myrtle Beach, South Caroline, I got this girl real drunk, and uhm, I fucked, we fucked.
Andrew: ... just that sentence sounds a little fishy, "I got her drunk against her will..."
Charlamagne: Nah I did. Now I didn't just get her drunk I went to the sex store and got Spanish Fly.
Andrew: Oh so you raped her?
Charlamagne: Shut up. Spanish Fly. They sell it in the sex store, I'm telling the truth... they sell it in the Spanish store. I had the fucking... I mean they sell it in the sex store.
Andrew: Why you snitching on you dog? They sell knives in the store too, you can put that to a girls throat, and have sex with her, doesn't mean its legal.
Charlamagne: So I put the spanish fly in the E&J, we drinking the E&J and shit... so in my mind I don't know if this shit really work, but I feel like I got horny as a motherfucker too! Right? Right?
Andrew: You took it too?
Charlamagne: So she was drunk and shit, and we had sex and shit, and like a lot of my boys were trying to come in the room and fuck her and I'm like nah chill out, we not doing that, I'm not gonna let y'all run a train on her, that's rape. So, right, so, so...
Andrew: If its just one on one, its ain't rape. Trains are rape.
Charlamagne: So the next morning, the next morning she wakes up and uhm, we talk about it. And she's like "What happened?" I'm like "We had sex." she said "Ok well I'm glad it was you." Then a couple days later, she's like "Yo are you sure I only had sex with you?" Because one of my stupid ass cousins was going around saying he fucked her, which he didn't, I know for a fact he didn't. I was there with her the whole time. He did not fuck her. He looked at her naked, but he didn't fuck her. Right? So, so, so... I'm telling her no me and you just had sex, nobody else did nothing. So it just was weird that she was like, "I'm just glad it was you." You know what I'm saying, because in mind yea you could have been in a real bad situation if it was another motherfucker there...
Andrew: That's a huge compliment man. A girl just said, "yo at least you raped me."
Charlamagne: I didn't rape her. I did not rape her. I did not rape her.
Andrew: If it was any of your cousins or friends... it would have been rape.
Charlamagne: I didn't rape her, because me and her had every intention of having sex with each other.
Andrew: So then why would you put the Spanish Fly?
Charlamagne: I was a freaky... I'm still a freaky motherfucker but I was really, I was... listen I was... my whole...
Andrew: Wait, was she passed out when you fucked her?
Charlamagne: Nah... she wasn't like. She was like one of those drunks where listen, no listen, no, she was one of those drunks where like, she was like one of those drunks where she was like oh, coher... she wasn't coherent, but she was up, like when your girl... like when you're blacked up like that don't know what the fuck is going on type shit, like she was really fucked up...
Andrew: She was awake and she was into it?
Charlamagne: She was wasted. Yea. She was wasted.
Andrew: Her eyes were not rolling in the back of her head?
Charlamagne: Nah nah nah nah... she was
Andrew: Ok was she snoring while you were having sex?
Charlamagne: It was just weird because while we were having sex, she was... because one of my homeboys used to fuck her on the regular. When I say the regular, the regular... that was his girl. He hates me probably to this day.
Andrew: Wait, so you fucked your friends girl?
Charlamagne: I was a piece of shit. It wasn't his girl tho, it was like a girl he used to really love. So this is the whole story... The girl was white right, and he was black... so this is in Monks Corner, South Carolina... they couldn't really have an inter-racial relationship at the time, dixie flag flying over and shit, right, they couldn't be... it couldn't really go down. So they couldn't really claim each other, you know what I'm saying... but it was one of those weekends she just mad at the motherfucker, and came to get drunk with me, and I had been flirting with her, and we had been talking on the phone, we kiss every now and then.
Andrew: This is your boy's girl...
Charlamagne: This is my boy's... He should have claimed her.
Andrew: Which boy?
Charlamagne: I'm not saying..
Andrew: Do I know him?
Charlamagne: Nah you don't know him. He should have claimed her.
Andrew: Was he at your wedding?
Charlamagne: Hell no. Absolutely not. But its like, we knew it was going to happen but it was just the fact that it could have been really bad for her, is my point. The fact that she woke up the next day and was like "I'm just glad it was you, and just you." was weird to me... that was a little strange.
Andrew: I like the fact that you made yourself a hero in this story.
Charlamagne: I did. I'm the Dr. Dre. I wrote... I wrote this... straight out of Monks corner. I wrote this.
Andrew: Sweetheart they was trying to come in the room... they were trying, after I drugged you and you passed out... they were trying to come in and get some pussy but I said no.
Charlamagne: I did not drug her, and pass out....
First off– what grown man, who isn’t a pedophile, could find anything entertaining or praiseworthy about the R. Kelly video? But get this–the irony of the disturbing tweets and video commentary is the fact that in 2019, Charlamagne actually participated in the “Surviving R. Kelly” documentary where he denounced R. Kelly’s acts!
Bruh.
Then—this Heathcliff Huxtable wannabe had the audacity to brag about drugging a woman with spanish fly— publicly– with no shame!
Listen–word of the day–NARCISSIST! There’s no doubt in my mind that Charlamagne is one of the worst ones a person could encounter. I feel sorry for his wife and daughters—for real.
But, there’s more. Evidence of Lenard’s narcissistic personality disorder was also on full display during his interview with media personality Akademiks. During the interview, Charlamagne recounted his version of events as it pertained to the Reid case–however, much of what he said does not match the facts as recorded in legal documents. However, what I specifically took notice of when I watched the video was that Charlamagne seemed to be almost boastful about the incident, as opposed to regretful that the situation (even in the limited way he described it) occurred at all. You can peep the interview below.
Look, I’m not going to go into much more detail about this person who I believe is a despicable human being who enjoys any type of attention–whether negative or positive. My goal is not to center him in this story. I wrote this to help Jessica share her story and reach as many people as possible, so that it may result in the pursuit of justice that she wasn’t equipped for when she was younger. Jessica deserves to have her day in court to share her story. Far too often, the voices of Black girls and women are silenced because we are deemed unworthy–because we are seen as other and that has to stop–now!
Today, Reid seems to be more empowered and is using her platform to take control of the narrative pertaining to her experience and ultimately obtain closure. Today, Reid is using social media to share her story, while working to convince authorities to reopen her case. Today, Reid has publicly called out her abuser and has let the world know what happened to her, in her own words. I sincerely wish this young woman the best as she stands in her truth and demands that her abuser be held accountable. You can follow Jessica on Twitter here. You can also donate to Jessica’s Go Fund Me to help her retain private investigators to discover the whereabout of the other men involved here: https://t.co/bdopZtu1lN?amp=1