Bobby Valentino Denies Leaking Cell Phone Pics For Publicity
The running joke among Internet heads is that celebrities like Cassie, Rihanna and Jamie Foxx have been leaking nude photos of themselves to swell up publicity. That was the assumption, too, when racy photos of Bobby Valentino—which showed him surrounded by a bunch of girls—hit the Web a few weeks ago.
According to the Atlanta-bred singer though, the snapshots were just a case of an iPhone gone AWOL.
“I saw them alright. I got a lot of phone calls about it, too,” Valentino told VIBE. “Long story short, I was on the road and I lost my phone [two days prior] and I already knew what it was gon’ be when I lost my phone and I still ain’t got it back and I hope no more pictures of me land on the Internet.”
With his new album, Fly on the Wall, coming soon, it seemed like opportune timing, especially since the nature of the photos wasn’t too lewd. But Bobby V insisted he would never stoop to those measures. The girls, he added, were just random chicks.
“I really ain’t into the big publicity stunt thing, trying to do things—especially negative things—to get publicity. ’Cause I’m really family oriented. When my mama said she seen the pictures on the Internet I felt a certain way,” the singer explained. “I grew up in a good family and I got morals and values so I don’t wanna be the person that’s naked on the Internet just to get album sale. I know a lot of artists do that, but that ain’t me so honestly I just lost my phone. I had a phone and just a couple things I had in my little picture log. I just had a couple pictures that were sentimental in there so they just got out to the world.”
Valentino is more focused on offering good music when his album drops this summer.
“I’m really stepping it up. I got some stuff that’s gon’ be what some people might say is weird, but it’s gon’ be still good soulful R&B. I’m definitely doing some out the box stuff as far as the sound. This is my fourth album, so I didn’t wanna just keep doing the same thing over and over.”
While producers Tim & Bob are helming the majority of the disc, the singer also plans to hit the studio with Ryan Leslie. “I’ve definitely been a fan of his for a while,” said Bobby V. “Anytime he drops something I’m one of the first people to cop it.” —Clover Hope
