Reality TV’s Sidney Starr is staying behind bars. A Fulton County judge denied bond Tuesday for the former “Love & Hip Hop: New York” personality, whose legal name is Sidney Favors, closing out a hearing that’s been building since her arrest earlier this month.
The ruling came down Tuesday, with a judge denying bond for the reality TV star facing sex assault charges. Favors, 37, had two hearings scheduled for the day, a preliminary hearing in Magistrate Court followed by the bond hearing in Superior Court before Judge Cox.
The courtroom got emotional before the gavel came down. The victim’s mother addressed the court directly, explaining why she wanted bond denied, and said her 13-year-old son is now in therapy. She didn’t hold back, telling the judge her son deserved better than what he’s been left to carry. “At this age when he should feel safe, innocent and protected,” she said, describing the toll the alleged assault has taken on her child.
This all traces back to August 2, when officers with the Hapeville Police Department were called out to an Embassy Suites near Hartsfield-Jackson. Starr was charged with sexual battery against a child under 16, aggravated child molestation, and sodomy.
Investigators say Starr admitted to the acts during questioning but claimed they were consensual. Under Georgia law, that claim doesn’t hold up, a child under 16 cannot legally consent, period. Investigators allege Favors told detectives she performed oral sex on a juvenile boy at the hotel that morning. The arrest hit especially hard given the timing, she was booked the same day she was set to appear at an entertainment industry event in the city.
Since the arrest, Starr’s team has been fighting to get her out. Her public defender filed the first bond motion on Aug. 6, arguing she couldn’t afford anything beyond a nominal bond because she’s indigent, while a second attorney filed a separate petition the next day pushing for an expedited release or a quicker hearing, citing her lifelong ties to Chicago and clean record. Starr described herself as having no criminal history and said she’d lived in Chicago her whole life, pointing to her television career as proof she wasn’t a flight risk. None of it moved the needle Tuesday.
Starr has maintained her innocence since day one. In a statement following her arrest, she said she “unequivocally denies” the allegations and plans to fight the case through the courts. She also used the moment to speak on the bigger picture, saying she hoped one person’s alleged actions wouldn’t translate to any judgment or stigmatism of the transgender community — a nod to the pile-on she’s faced across social media and the blogs since news broke.
Behind the scenes, Starr has reportedly been held in a separate part of the jail. A representative for the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office told TMZ that Starr identified as someone who engages in a particular lifestyle during intake, and she’s being housed in a unit for LGBTQ inmates.
This isn’t Starr’s first time at the center of a viral firestorm. Back in 2012, she became known in hip-hop circles after falsely claiming a romantic relationship with rapper Chingy following a fan photo, a claim she later admitted was untrue and apologized for, one Chingy says cost him business and followed him for years after. Now, over a decade later, she’s facing something far more serious than internet gossip.
With bond officially off the table, Starr remains locked up in Fulton County Jail while the district attorney’s office builds its case. The matter still has to clear a grand jury before formal charges are locked in, and with felony counts like aggravated child molestation carrying decades behind bars under Georgia law, this story is far from over.