DaBaby is wrapped up in some more mess, unfortunately.
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On Saturday night, DaBaby was caught on camera slapping a woman who approached him as he went onstage at Whiskey North in Tampa, Florida. The 28-year-old rapper was appearing for his “Up Close N Personal” tour and apparently, the crowd quickly turned against him because of the incident, booing him. He later left the venue without performing any songs.
In a hurried attempt to clear his name, DaBaby rushed to Instagram, offering $10 thousand to anyone who had a different angle of the assault that might clearly show the reason he reacted in that manner.
Sadly, this all escalated on International Women’s Day, no less. Sigh.
As a fan of DaBaby’s music, stage presence and general aura, I was definitely disappointed to see the footage, while also acknowledging his past problematic transgressions.
The rapper has recently been involved in a few incidents involving assault and battery. There’s that time in 2019 his bodyguard assaulted a female fan. In January, the rapper was also caught on video pushing and confronting a hotel employee who followed and tried to videotape him while he was with his daughter. Celebrities often have to reconcile establishing boundaries with balancing interaction with their fans. (Of course, this is why an effective and safe security team is important.) Yet, there’s something to be said about the glee some people feel when an oft-lauded “fave” does something awful. The significance is always placed more on the “gotcha” moment than any concern for whoever may have been hurt or harmed in the scenario.
Additionally, Black Twitter naturally began to wonder if the young rapper would appear on Red Table Talk given the noticeable trend of celebrities appearing on the show to clean up their tainted public relations.
Later, DaBaby recorded another IG video apologizing to the woman publicly for slapping her, while also noting that the flash from the camera obstructed his view. “I do sincerely apologize,” he began. “I do. I’m very sorry that there was a female on the other end of that flashlight on their phone.”
“I think by this time, you know it’s a well-known fact that male or female, I would’ve responded the same exact way,” he added, concluding that while he attempted to “respect” the crowd by using security, he wished she would’ve respected him as well and ultimately apologized “for the way it went.” He also offered to pay for the woman’s travel so that the two could speak about the matter privately.
Further, TMZ confirmed the identity of the woman in question, Tyronesha Laws, and reported that she has obtained legal counsel. “Morgan & Morgan has been retained to represent the interests of Tyronesha Laws. Ms. Laws has received DaBaby’s Instagram message. We look forward to speaking to Mr. Kirk,” attorney Matt Morgan told TMZ.
The Root has reached out to DaBaby’s team for comment.
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