Rihanna’s Former Publicist Admits Starting “Jay-Z Affair” Rumor

Jonathan Hay, the former publicist who concocted the bogus Rihanna rumor that nearly sank Jay-Z’s relationship with Beyoncé apologized publicly on Friday. “I apologized to her… this whole thing is very awkward,” Hay says. He claims he apologized earlier to Shawn Carter known as Jay-Z and has branched out from being Rihanna’s publicist to producing his own music. He recently uploaded his project, “When Worlds Collide,” to the music streaming service Tidal, which is owned by Jay-Z and Beyoncé. His belated apology on Inside Edition came after The Daily News obtained a copy of celebrity biographer J. Randy Taraborelli’s UNAUTHORIZED biography “Becoming Beyoncé: The Untold Story,” which — among other things — tells how he fanned a rumor that Jay-Z was cheating with Rihanna to give her first single “Pon de Replay” a boost. “I was blindsided by the news of ‘Becoming Beyoncé’ coming out and it couldn’t come at a worse time for me,” Hay said in a statement. “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.” Jonathan Hay does not deny pushing what turned out to be a lie. “The PR stunt that I did was out of desperation to help break ‘Pon de Replay’,” he wrote. “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.” Hay said he never met Taraborelli but spoke with his researcher. “I didn’t think it would be this big story,” Hay wrote. “But now, seeing Beyoncé on the cover of this book and knowing that people are profiting from speculations and opinions about her really turns my stomach.” “I’m ashamed that I’m even talking about this. I just want to put this rumor to rest once and for all.”