While performing in Atlanta on Sunday, country music superstar Tim McGraw was caught on video slapping an aggressive female fan.
McGraw can be seen in some seriously tight pre-ripped jeans walking out into the crowd during the performance of his song “Truck Yeah.” His fans, especially the ladies, are going trucking crazy over the hunky Indian Outlaw when one fan grabs a hold of one of those pre-ripped holes and does not let go – ripping it even further.
McGraw reactively knocks her arm away but then he takes his free hand and actually hits the woman across her head. The woman is escorted away by security and Tim can be seen staring at the lady in disbelief.
TMZ got two videos from different angles – they published this one first:
Followed later by this one:
McGraw’s reps went into damage control mode by reaching out to E! who wrote a post, “Tim McGraw Didn’t Slap a Fan in Concert, He Was Just Trying to Keep His Pants in One Piece.” Tim’s camp said:
“At the end of the night during the encore, Tim was singing out in the audience and someone firmly grabbed onto his leg and wouldn’t let go as he was moving through the crowd. He instinctively swatted to try and keep them from ripping his jeans (which they succeeded at doing!), and so he could get to more fans who were trying to slap hands with him before the end of the show. He didn’t know who had grabbed him and was simply trying to keep his jeans from being torn.”
Reactions have been mixed with some people condemning Tim’s actions and fans either arguing, in spite of the videos, that this never happened or that the lady got what she deserved.
A few things…
McGraw did instinctively swat the lady’s arm away but THEN he popped her. I don’t see how this is in question – it happened. It got out there that this lady had grabbed his crotch (justifying McGraw’s reax) and I don’t see it in that 2nd clip. She grabs that hole on the side of his leg, doesn’t let go and it causes him to slip a little.
If part of you performance is interacting that close with fans you have to assume this type of thing is going to happen from time to time. This does not excuse what that lady did at all but the real good man needed to be a bigger man in this situation. Even if she or someone else in that moment grabbed him “there” you still can’t physically strike an audience member.
At the same show, McGraw serenaded a young fan on stage and it was a beautiful moment – one that many of his fans have pointed out in debating the slap clips. I wanted to mention this because it was a really cool thing that Tim did but popping the lady was a really not cool thing. The former doesn’t make the latter any less egregious.
Do you think McGraw was justified in hitting the woman. Let us know in the comments below with a “truck yeah” or “truck no.”
