Rihanna and Matt Kemp
Arnold Turner/FilmMagic; Edruvalcaba/LondonEnt/ Splash News Online
In June 2008, Kemp's ex-girlfriend, Felisha Terrell, filed a temporary restraining order against him, alleging she endured "constant verbal abuse and threats. . . . He has other people calling me, stalking me and I feel very afraid for my safety."
The case never went beyond the restraining order and both sides agreed to move on.
But the details surfaced almost exactly a year after Rihanna was battered by her previous boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, following a pre-Grammy party. The pair split up and Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault and was sentenced to six months community labor.
A rep for Terrell quickly released a statement, saying, "To be clear, Matt was never physically abusive to Felisha."
Terrell's attorney at the time, David Diamond, tells PEOPLE that her allegations in the restraining order were truthful. "It was the harassment, it was the stalking and it was the intimidation," he says.
Kemp's camp denies all of it. His agent Dave Stewart released a statement, saying Terrell never moved forward with the case because "the statements made within [her complaint] were false."
"This happened over a year ago and it's really a non-issue for him," Stewart says. "He was saddened by the whole thing, especially taking into account what [Rihanna's] been through."
Kemp's lawyer, Richard A. Stilz, tells PEOPLE: "He denied [the claims] emphatically, even verbal abuse. He's just that not that kind of person."
Rihanna's rep had no comment.
• Additional reporting by JESSICA HERNDON
See what other readers have to say about this story – or leave a comment of your own
