Celebrity publicist Jonathan Hay is now claiming responsibility for fabricating stories about an affair between hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and his pop star protege Rihanna in a bid to help push her single, “Pon De Replay.”

In a recent interview with Associated Content, Jonathan admits: “Along with one of my partners, I then began to fabricate stories of Rihanna and Jay-Z, leaking false rumors to tabloids, working internet message boards, etc. We started to get an insane amount of media coverage very fast. There are so many things we did that people don’t even know about, not even Rihanna herself…My whole agenda was to get media for the song.”

He adds: “When the rumor surfaced that Jay-Z had a new love life and was cheating on Beyonce…that was just to get attention…I feel awful but, yes, I leaked some of those stories. Looking back, I am ashamed of that; there was zero integrity in that maneuver. But this is entertainment and I wanted to obtain publicity – so I came up with some crazy stories and it worked. Rihanna is one of the biggest stars in the world now, and look at how she stormed into the business! Not to take anything from her – she is a great artist – but every artist needs a launching pad and there is nothing better than a good scandal to get the public’s attention.”