You may remember a rumor going around that Jay Z had cheated on Beyonce with Rihanna right around the beginning of the Barbadian singer's career. While it hasn't been a hot topic for years, the subject recently resurfaced through reports that the rumors had actually caused a year-long rift in Jay Z and Beyonce's relationship, which came to light through an upcoming unofficial biography Becoming Beyoncé.
Rihanna's former publicist Jonathan Hay is also interviewed in the book, and he's now admitted that he was behind the rumors, which he has confirmed were entirely false and created to promote Rihanna's debut single, "Pon De Replay".
"I was desperate at the time because I wanted to have a hit record,” Hay told Inside Edition of what he described as a "publicity stunt". "We were young and stupid."
If the news that Jay and Bey did in fact separate for a year is to be believed, Hay did some considerable damage. "Pon De Replay" definitely broke, though with a born star like Rihanna it's difficult to believe she needed the shady push.
