Tupac Shakur Supported Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes After She Torched Andre Rison’s Home

Tupac Shakur was quite the ladies’ man. But aside from his romances, he also had close friendships with a few female companions. His longtime friendship with Jada Pinkett Smith is widely reported on, but he was also close to Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. According to Left Eye’s ex, Tupac came to Left Eye’s aid after she torched his home. 

A recap of Left Eye burning down Andre Rison’s home

Left Eye and Shakur met at an industry event in 1991 when their music careers were both starting. They became fast friends and spent a lot of time together. The TLC member has admitted that she was instantly attracted to Tupac, but it was his decision to remain platonic. 

Rison and Lopes began dating in 1992 after meeting in an Atlanta nightclub. Shakur was present that evening with Rison as they were also friends, but the Juice star and Left Eye were not on speaking terms at the time due to having a falling out months earlier when he accused Left Eye of being intimate with his best friend. 

The connection between Left Eye and Rison was magnetic. She moved into his Georgia mansion on their first date. But just their passion was also dangerous. The relationship was riddled with infidelity and domestic violence. On one evening in 1994, Left Eye came home late one evening and was pissed to discover that Rison was still not home. She became more enraged when she looked at his closet full of sneakers, and none were for her.

Pissed, she set fire to the sneakers in the tub in his master bathroom. Because the tub was made of cheap material, the whole house was caught ablaze, torching the $1.3 million home to the ground.

Andre Rison says Tupac Shakur picked up Left Eye after the infamous fire

Left Eye fled the home after noticing the damage. But she wasn’t alone. According to Rison, Tupac came to her rescue. 

“I assumed that was already planned,” Rison told The Art of Dialogue in a recent interview. “I just looked outside and there was a limo outside. She was getting in the limo and the door cracked. When the door cracked, it was obvious. There were other people outside, too. Everybody seen everything, but it was all good. I was already disengaging.”

Because of that incident, he says he never trusted Left Eye the same. “I drew the line ’cause I had partners like that before, but this was a unique situation,” he added. “Coming up and you’re the guy, it’s hard to cheat. It’s hard to be in the public eye and have a different chick on your hip every week. A lot of guys don’t. A lot of guys go the mistress route. But the tables is turned just as much. What you do to a woman, a woman can do to you just as fast—or even quicker.”

He also claims Left Eye wanted a romantic relationship with Tupac 

In a Lifetime docuseries about their romance, Rison says he always believes things with Tupac was more than platonic. Left Eye’s friends disagreed but noted Left Eye and Tupac were like soulmates. “I think Andre knew how Lisa felt about Pac, and I think Andre knew that was his competition,” the rapper’s best friend, Trena Smith, said in the special. “They had a strong connection, they knew what each other were thinking, they could finish each other’s sentences.”