Maryland Hairstylist Who Dragged Teen Client By Her Weave on Camera Finally Learns Her Fate

You probably remember that viral video from last March, right? When a Maryland hairstylist filmed— and posted— herself dragging her teenage client across the floor for allegedly not paying for her new ‘do. The clip quickly dominated social media timelines and eventually, the stylist was charged with assault. Now, she just learned her fate.

On March 2, 2025, Jayla A. Cunningham got into a dispute with a 15-year-old client on video at her licensed, home-based hair-braiding business in Temple Hills, Maryland.

The 19-year-old told Fox 5 DC how the unnamed client “ran without paying” the alleged agreed-upon $150 fee for a weave installation. Therefore, she “dragged her by her hood back into the salon until I could get paid or, you know, until the police come or until, you know, she let me take out the service. Because it’s like she literally ran outside, like she was about to be gone.”

In the controversial footage, Cunningham can be seen pulling the teen by her hood toward the doorway, although the victim’s mother said her “traumatized” daughter’s hair was pulled despite prosecutors acknowledging the video itself doesn’t clearly show that.

The stylist could be heard telling her client, “Sit right here until somebody sends it,” seemingly referring to the money for the appointment. “I’m not f*cking playing. You just tried to f*cking run. You lucky I ain’t beat the sh*t out you.”

Cunningham, then 18 years old, also told Fox 5 DC after the incident: “I feel like if I didn’t do that, she would have been gone and I would have just never been paid.” 

She was subsequently charged with second-degree assault, and the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Office announced a jury found Cunningham guilty in November. During her sentencing on Jan. 22, she told Michael Pearson of the Prince George’s County Circuit Court, “I really do regret what I did. Can you have faith in me? Can you believe in me that I am trying?”

Cunningham’s attorney, Samuel Elria, argued that she had already suffered enough, including losing her business and her apartment. According to court records, Cunningham later apologized to the teen.

Now, weeks before the one-year anniversary of the dragging video, Cunningham was ordered to serve six months of home detention, The Washington Post reported. The sentence also includes probation following home detention and mandatory mental health and anger management treatment.

Elira added that he thinks his client “is going to be a successful young woman. I’m sure the way she conducted herself at 18 won’t be the same way she conducts herself at 25.”