Remy Ma has rejected a plea deal and is ready to stand trial on charges that she punched a castmate of the reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York .
The rapper, whose real name is Reminisce Smith, appeared in a Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday, where she rejected a deal that would have seen her plead guilty to punching Brittney Taylor in exchange for prosecutors dropping a charge of third-degree assault, the New York Post ‘s noted. If she had taken the deal, Remy Ma would have avoided jail time but would have been sentenced to take anger management courses.
The rapper will now face a July 12 trial date. As Remy Ma said to reporters outside the courtroom, she had other things on her mind beyond the court proceedings.
“I have things to do in my life, like, I have a real job, I have a family, I have a husband, I have a daughter,” she said.
The trial stems from an incident last year in which Taylor claims that Remy Ma punched her during an event at Irving Plaza. As Page Six reported at the time, Taylor told police that Remy Ma punched her in the right eye. Taylor was treated at Mount Sinai Hospital but did not report the incident until the next day.
Remy Ma is no stranger to the inside of a courtroom — or a jail cell. The rapper served six years in state prison for shooting a friend suspected of stealing from her. The rapper said she had a difficult time adjusting to life outside of prison and the strict routines she developed.
Remy Ma also said that she has learned to appreciate the small conveniences of life on the outside.
“When I was in prison I used to get in trouble, because you were only allowed to use one mattress,” she told Page Six . “It was made of nasty material. At first it was fluffy, then a few days would pass and you felt like you were sleeping on a metal slab. I would have three or four mattresses backed up.?.?. [today] I love being in my own big fluffy bed.”
Remy Ma faces trial in alleged assault of ‘Love & Hip Hop’ co-star https://t.co/J7gYDpQng1 pic.twitter.com/UTxU3w6mtX
— Page Six (@PageSix) May 24, 2019
Remy Ma appears to be planning a robust defense in her current case, one that could be damaging to her fellow reality star. Her lawyer, Dawn Florio, claimed that Brittany Taylor suffers from “mental illness and bipolar depression” and has asked for prosecutors to share Taylor’s psychiatric records.