THE TRUTH BEHIND THOSE JAY Z/RIHANNA RUMORS

Jonathan Hay reportedly writes in his upcoming book, Publicity Stunt: The Art of Noise, how he was behind the rumors of an affair between Rihanna and Jay-Z. In an interview with Joe Klein posted on Associated Content, he tells how he was hired by Vada Nobles, who produced Rihanna’s first single, “Pon De Replay,” to generate publicity for the then-unknown Barbadian singer.

“I then began to fabricate stories of Rihanna and Jay-Z, leaking false rumors to tabloids, working internet message boards, etc. We started to get an insane amount of media coverage very fast. There are so many things we did that people don't even know about, not even Rihanna herself. She was completely unknown and I was paid by Vada Nobles to generate publicity. The mega Island Def Jam deal rumor, we fluffed and fabricated. Rihanna and Vada had no idea what I was doing behind the scenes, but my whole agenda was to get media for the song…

I mean leaking out sensational stories and spreading them around in the news -- to tabloids such as the National Enquirer, music and gossip sites and whatnot. Like when the rumor surfaced that Jay-Z had a new love life and was cheating on Beyonce...that was just to get attention. Rihanna had nothing to do with ANY of that, nor did she know what we were doing. I was just trying to break the single and stay employed by Vada Nobles. Even Vada didn't know half the stuff I was doing. I kept my strategy a secret at the time because, honestly, everyone would have been against it, the tactics that I used. But I was only thinking about the end result - and look what happened...gossip sells.

I feel awful but, yes, I leaked some of those stories. Looking back, I am ashamed of that; there was zero integrity in that maneuver. But this is entertainment and I wanted to obtain publicity - so I came up with some crazy stories and it worked. Rihanna is one of the biggest stars in the world now, and look at how she stormed into the business! Not to take anything from her - she is a great artist - but every artist needs a launching pad and there is nothing better than a good scandal to get the public's attention.”

SOURE: ORIGINAL GOSSIP GIRL