Following the news that Nelly was arrested and accused of rape early Saturday morning (Oct. 7), his frequent collaborator Akon has spoken up in defense of the rapper.

The singer was questioned by TMZ while at LAX airport yesterday, where he seconded Nelly’s statement maintaining his innocence, explaining that he doesn’t believe the claims to be true.

“Not the Nelly I know,” Akon responded, answering whether or not he believes Nelly is capable of what he’s being accused of doing. “He’s an amazing person, man. I just know how scary these situations can be. I’m almost 100 percent positive he’s innocent.”

The singer then went on to explain why he feels Nelly and people of a celebrity stature are a perfect target for being on the receiving end of a false allegation.

“Often times those are the situations that you have to be mindful of anyway, because people like us are licks for these girls now,” Akon continued. “We are targets on every level. Half the time, they’ll set up a charge just for us to settle out. Just so we don’t deal with the embarrassment and go through the process of fighting it. Once you get that stigma, it’s on you whether you are guilty or not.”

Nelly addressed the allegations last night on Twitter, explaining that, in addition to the claims being false, he was not charged with a crime and was released pending further investigation.