Sidney Starr denies the child molestation allegations against her, and she says she plans to fight the case head on through the legal system. The reality personality, born Sidney Favors, released a statement addressing the felony charges she picked up over the weekend, marking her first public comments since news of her arrest broke.
In the statement to TMZ, Starr says she “unequivocally denies the allegations against her” and intends to defend herself through every step of the legal process. She makes clear that an arrest is not the same as guilt, stressing that public opinion should never be allowed to replace due process. Starr also uses the moment to push back on any attempt to make her case a referendum on trans people broadly, saying one person’s alleged actions should never be used to stigmatize an entire community.
She closes her statement by thanking supporters for their patience and asking for privacy while the case moves through the courts. Starr says this will be her only public statement while the matter remains pending.
The charges stem from an arrest that went down Sunday, August 2, at an Embassy Suites in Hapeville, Georgia, just outside Atlanta. Starr was taken into custody and booked into the Fulton County Jail on sexual battery against a child under 16, aggravated child molestation, and sodomy. Booking records accuse her of confessing to performing oral sex on a minor at the hotel and claiming the act was consensual.
According to the Hapeville Police Department, officers responded to the hotel following a report of a sexual assault involving a child. The department has kept its public comments limited, stating that no additional information will be released from the agency because the case involves a juvenile. No affidavit detailing the full allegations has been made public, and prosecutors have not yet laid out evidence in court.
Starr has built a career in reality television and entertainment for more than a decade, first breaking through as a dancer before landing a recurring spot on “Love & Hip Hop: New York.” She has also popped up on “Wild ‘N Out” and”Empire” over the years. This is not Starr’s first brush with controversy. She previously admitted to fabricating a relationship with rapper Chingy after the two took a photo together, a false claim she later apologized for making, though Chingy has said the rumor cost him real opportunities in the industry.
Starr’s mother, Stephanie Favors, has also spoken to TMZ about the case, saying the allegations do not match the daughter she knows and that she does not believe Starr would engage in sexual activity with a minor. As it stands, Starr remains behind bars at Fulton County Jail, and no court date has been publicly announced. The case is still in its early stages, and under the law, Starr is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove otherwise.
