Originally posted Friday, March 22, 2019 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Tommie Lee, who was on "Love and Hip Hop Atlanta" seasons six and seven, showed up to court for a child abuse case March 14 in Cobb County drunk and was placed back in jail, according to TMZ.
Tommie, whose real name is Atasha Chizaah Jefferson, appeared inebriated and they tested her to prove that was indeed the case. (The AJC confirmed the TMZ story.)
She released this statement to TMZ, acknowledging she has a problem:
"I've been working really hard through my problems considering the challenges that's been set before me since I've been home. I've done all that I can do on my own to shake my habits but I do realize that I need help and I am currently seeking treatment."
She faces up to 54 years in prison.
Tommie is accused of grabbing a daughter by the hair and shoving her head into a metal locker at Griffin Middle School in Smyrna, according to an Oct. 16 police warrant. She also allegedly slapped the child’s hands with a purse strap and cursed at her.
She has been dropped from “Love and Hip Hop Atlanta,” which returns for season 8 on Monday, March 25 at 8 p.m.
On the show, she was shown frequently inebriated but would frequently deny she had a drinking problem.
In an interview I did with her in 2017 at the AJC, she downplayed her drinking.
"I think an alcoholic is someone who depends on alcohol to function," she said. "I don't depend on alcohol. I can do whatever I want when I drink and still get up and handle my business."
Minutes after I posted this story, a publicist for Tommie offered up this video she did called "Truth" featuring Anthony Hamilton.
"My entire life I have been made out to be the bad guy," Tommie Lee said in a press release, "and maybe I am but with 'Truth' I want fans to understand how I became Tommie and form their own opinions."
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