North Carolina rapper DaBaby apologized during the weekend after a video surfaced of him appearing to hit a fan at his Saturday night concert in Florida.
The video, which was posted on Instagram, looks to show the Charlotte emcee hitting a woman who was holding her phone, with the flash on, directly in his face. The incident happened in the Tampa Bay area during his “Up Close N Personal” tour. The footage went viral, with several fans criticizing DaBaby for his violent, knee-jerk reaction.
In a series of Instagram stories, DaBaby apologized for hitting the woman, who was later identified as Tyronesha Laws, according to BET News. The "Suge" rapper did not directly apologize for hitting someone, but he apologized that a woman happened to be the person responsible for flashing the light on him.
“I do sincerely apologize, I do. I am very sorry that there was a female at the other end of the flashlight on the phone,” he said.
In the footage, a fan can be seen holding her smartphone up to the rapper’s eye with the flash on while he is walking through a crowd. He is then seen striking the woman.
The Billboard chart-topping star said he did not realize the culprit was Laws. He further explained his stance in following stories.
“I’m very sorry that there was a female on the other end of that flashlight on their phone,” he continued.
“But, you know, keep in mind, I couldn’t see you because you got the flash this close to me. Which is OK, it’s no problem. A lot of people did -- they didn’t put it as close as you put it -- but a lot of people had flash on me, and that’s OK. That’s what I signed up for.”
The night of the incident, the crowd booed, and fans continued in a chorus of boos and commentary online even after his apology was posted Sunday.
Despite the apology, Morgan & Morgan has been retained to represent Laws’ interest, according to BET. Ms. Laws has received DaBaby’s Instagram message.
“We look forward to speaking with Mr. Kirk,” said a statement from the lawyer.
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