WARREN (CBS Detroit) What do controversial R&B artist R. Kelly and septuagenarian Warren Mayor Jim Fouts have in common?

They’re on the same wikipedia page.

Information about Fouts has been added to a wikipedia page describing the “Shaggy defense,” which is a concept based on the classic reggae and R&B song hip “It Wasn’t Me.”

The song captures a man caught “red handed” cheating on his girlfriend. Refresh your memory here.

The lyrics include “she caught me on the counter (It wasn’t me)

Saw me bangin’ on the sofa (It wasn’t me), Saw me kissin’ on the sofa (It wasn’t me), I even had her in the shower (It wasn’t me), She even caught me on camera (It wasn’t me).”

Following the popularity of the song, getting caught on tape in the act of something illegal or unethical, and then denying it was you, is known as the Shaggy defense.

And now it’s Wikipedia official. The Wikipedia page lists several Shaggy defense use cases, including R. Kelly, who was allegedly captured on video having sex with an underage girl and successfully denied in court that it was him.

The newest entry includes Fouts. Wikipedia says this about Fouts and the Shaggy defense:

“The strategy was again used and cited in 2017 when James R. Fouts, the mayor of the Detroitsuburb of Warren, Michigan, faced controversy after multiple audio recordings alleged to be of him mocking African Americans, women, and the mentally challenged were released to the press. Fouts responded to the tapes’ release by repeatedly stating that the voice on the tapes is not his, earning him widespread mockery and calls to resign his office.”

Despite the outcry, Fouts repeatedly denied it was his voice on the tape heard mocking women, the mentally disabled, and black people. Council members have said they can’t force him to resign, and he has said that he will not resign.