Ashanti: Music superstar's heart-breaking admission about the terrible impact stalking horror has on her life
Stalkers impact on the lives and fears of their celebrity victims long after they are caught and punishes - as hip-hop superstar Ashanti has confirmed with heartbreaking admissions about her own terrible experiences.
Ashanti was stalked for years and says it completely changed her life and how she feels about the attention that comes with stardom.
The 'Baby' singer was subjected to unwanted attention from Devar Hurd, who stood trial for stalking her four times between 2009 and 2016, and she has reflected on the "unsettling" experience, admitting she has "hope" that it is now behind her.
She said on 'Stalking the Stars', the latest episode of the Investigation Discovery docuseries 'Hollywood Demons': "It changed my life... it's unsettling, it's disheartening, and it makes you question who's the victim.
"The feeling is hope that the rehabilitation happens, hope that he gets the message, and hoping that everything is done."
The 44-year-old star always tries to be "gracious" with fans but sometimes the attention can be "invasive".
She said: "I have some of the most amazing fans in the world, so I always try to be gracious, I always try to be courteous, but it does get a bit invasive.
"In 2009, I was actually playing Dorothy in 'The Wiz' on Broadway, and my mom was getting these pictures, texts."
The then-unknown man expressed his desire for he and Ashanti to "be together", sought an invitation to her home, commented on her various live performances and criticised her relationship with Nelly.
She said: "It makes you feel a little scared. This is a red line being crossed. Obviously, my family along with me, it's kind of affecting everyone. They didn't ask to be a part of this."
The messages "progressively turned into something deadly."
She continued: "He started sending pictures of my car, parked in the front of the theatre. He started sending pictures of my house, aerial shots, shots of the front door.
"[I thought] 'Okay. This is serious serious now...' We made the decision, me, my parents, my family, to kind of get the law involved."
Hurd was arrested later that year and sentenced to two years in prison for sending unwanted sexual messages and stalking, but was released the following year.
Ashanti reflected: "In my situation, he was convicted, and we were hoping and praying that it was done. We felt that that was going to be it. But unfortunately, it kind of kept going on and on."
The man defied the no contact order in place to protect the singer and her family, sending pictures he had taken at an event with her sister Kenashia Douglas and sent a string of social media messages in 2014.
As a result, he was arrested again for stalking and aggravated harassment, and went back on trial. and opted to represent himself, which meant he could cross-examine Ashanti himself.
She said: "It's really weird. It's kinda like, to get what you want done, he gets what he wants, which is to be in your presence."
A juror took ill, which led to a mistrial, but Hurd was eventually convicted for a second time in 2016 and jailed for four years. He was allowed out of prison a year later.