Rihanna’s Former Publicist Admits To Starting Jay Z Cheating Rumors To Drum Up Buzz For ‘Pon De Replay’

Over the course of Beyonce and Jay Z's relationship, rumors of infidelity on Hov's end have run rampant in the tabloids. One of the purveying rumors that has plagued the beloved couple's romance is that of a fling with Jay Z's then 17-year-old protege and collaborator Rihanna. Now, the man responsible for spreading those unfortunate rumors has come forward to clear the air once and for all.

Earlier this week, preview clips from an upcoming unauthorized Beyonce biography, Becoming Beyoncé: The Untold Story, hit the web. In the clips, author J. Randy Taraborelli claims that in 2005, Jay Z and Beyonce took an almost yearlong break due to the strife created from the murmurs of an affair between Jay and RiRi. The author also muses that the rumors themselves may have stemmed from Rihanna's then-publicist, Jonathan Hay, in a bid to drum up publicity for her single "Pon De Replay."

On Friday, Hay surprisingly owned up to starting the rumors nearly a decade ago, expressing regret over the "PR stunt" and even claiming that he has since apologized to Bey for the trouble it caused:

"I apologized to her…this whole thing is very awkward," Hay told the New York Daily News in a statement, adding, "I was blindsided by the news of Becoming Beyoncé coming out and it couldn't come at a worse time for me. I’m currently releasing projects with my label Urban Hitchcock through Tidal, a company that is owned by Jay Z and Beyoncé…Hopefully this news hasn't ruined that relationship for me.... I'm ashamed that I'm even talking about this. I just want to put this rumor to rest once and for all."

Hay also went on to describe the reasoning behind starting the gossip, explaining that the whole thing was concocted in the name of publicity for his former client: "The PR stunt that I did was out of desperation to help break ‘Pon De Replay'. It was reckless and I didn't think it was going to work. I was just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what would stick."

Somehow, something tells us Rihanna didn't approve of this particular PR tactic... In any event, we're glad that Bey and Jay can move on from this ugly rumor for good. Love wins, once and for all!

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