Gloria Steinem: 'T.I.'s hymen check is a human rights violation'

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem is taking aim at rapper T.I. after he confessed to having his daughter's hymen checked annually to make sure she is still a virgin, insisting he's breaking the law.

The rap star stunned listeners of the Ladies Like Us podcast last week (ends08Nov19), when he revealed he books his daughter an appointment with a gynaecologist on her birthday every year to make sure the 18-year-old college student is still pure.

His comments went viral and led to the podcast hosts, Nazanin Mandi and Nadia Moham, apologising for their reactions in the moment and then removing the audio.

Several female celebrities have reprimanded the rapper, and now Steinem tells TMZ that she thinks his actions are a human rights violation.

"It is not his hymen, it is not his body," she tells the outlet. "He doesn't have any right to do that... You can't invade a child's body for anything other than a medical emergency or a medical reason."

And author and activist Steinem is suspicious of how T.I. gets the information about his daughter's hymen from her doctor after he revealed she signs a release form allowing the medic to speak to her dad.

"There's a power relationship that's very suspicious there," she adds. "I don't think it sounds like free will... and the courts should be after him."