Tim McGraw Responds to Fan Slapping Incident
***UPDATE (7-27-14): Tim McGraw Fan Wants Apology, Hires Lawyer in Slapping Incident
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Tim McGraw has responded to an incident that happened at a concert in Atlanta on Sunday (7-13) at Aaron’s Ampitheatre at Lakewood, where after a female fan touched him multiple times, including grabbing hold of his jeans and causing a significant rip in them, Tim responded by slapping or shoving the female fan across the head. The incident has Tim McGraw in hot water with many fans for laying his hands on a woman.
Tim McGraw told ET Canada:
Sometimes things can lose context and perspective. I reacted in an instinctive, defensive way from my perspective of what was going on. I think it was an unfortunate situation, I think all the way around.
But it happened, it happened in a split second, it was pure instinctive reaction, I think you just got to move on.
It is one of those things that happen, nobody feels good about it, but there’s nothing that could be done about it. You are in that position, you are out there, you are vulnerable, things happen and sometimes you react. There’s nothing to be said about it.
Footage of the incident has spread across the internet on sites such as The Huffington Post and TMZ. Clearly seen in the video, a woman in the crowd reaches out to touch Tim multiple times before grabbing Tim’s jeans near his left pocket and causing a large rip. Some also discern from the grainy videos available that the woman was trying to touch Tim’s genitals. The woman either didn’t let go, or her hand gets caught on Tim’s jeans, and when he goes to pull away is when the “instinctive” slap occurred.
Tim was singing his song “Truck Yeah” as an encore performance at the time. The woman was later escorted out of the concert by a security guard.
Though the woman was clearly being aggressive and putting her hands on Tim, the question for some fans remains why Tim felt the need to slap the woman, and so aggressively, instead of waiting for security to diffuse the situation. As can be seen in the videos of the incident, security arrives very shortly afterwards. At the same time, Tim was clearly reacting to the situation, and not acting out against the woman unilaterally. A spokesperson for McGraw had said late last week about the incident, ““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 trying to keep his pants from being torn.”
Late last week Atlanta police said that Tim McGraw would not face charges in the incident. The woman who was slapped and later detained after the incident, has not pressed charges.
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July 21, 2014 @ 11:51 am
In my opinion, regardless of how unruly the fan was, and I think we can all agree she was out-of-control, Tim would go a long way with a lot of people if he would simply say that in general, putting your hands on a woman is wrong in all but the most extreme cases, and that he doesn’t condone that type of behavior. No, a ton should not be made of this incident, but a ton has been and will be, and Tim could save face by simply coming out in general against violence towards women, even if he feels like it doesn’t apply in this specific case.
July 21, 2014 @ 1:42 pm
Or violence against anyone, for that matter.
July 24, 2014 @ 1:11 pm
I totally agree he has no right to put his hands on anyone, and what looked scary was that he seems like he was going to hit her again when the security guard stopped him.
August 19, 2014 @ 11:34 pm
I agree. He looks like he was going to instinctively slap her face/head twice.
September 15, 2019 @ 5:25 pm
If someone grabbed your Balls, don’t you think you would react Quickly ?
September 20, 2014 @ 1:51 pm
I disagree. You shouldn’t be violent against anybody, but saying that you shouldn’t be violent towards women is stupid and it just promotes gender bias and double standards. I don’t condone what McGraw did, but he instinctively reacted like any human being would in this situation. Just because you’re a female does not mean that you can put your hands on a man and not expect to get hit back.
September 15, 2019 @ 5:22 pm
Sorry, I don’t agree ! That Whako had NO RIGHT to touch Tim. He is an Entertainer, his sole purpose is to make sure his Fans have a good time. How would you feel, if you were singing on Stage, and some Guy was grabbing and tearing your clothes. Then continued by grabbing your Crotch. You would react very quickly and get them off you. She deserved what she got.
July 21, 2014 @ 12:03 pm
As many other comments pointed out in the last article. Maybe the tank top, tan, tight jeans, song…overall image says, “look at me” is he trying to be provocative or not? Is he trying to be a rapper or not? Identity crisis. How many times do we see rockstars or rappers that dress, dance, sing provocatively get upset & slap a female fan when they get groped? I personally haven’t ever. I keep thinking of (an uber cool) Jim Morrison in tight leather, dancing about, “touch me baby” and being rushed by sometimes topless female fans. Unfair comparison I know. Thinking maybe he needs to rethink his image, stage setup, branding. I think he’s confusing the dumb masses (dumbasses)
July 21, 2014 @ 2:50 pm
This is a terrible argument when it’s made against girls in school. They can’t wear short short because it’s too distracting for the boys, etc etc. Come On! And it’s a terrible argument here. People should be expected to act appropriately and condoning their behavior because they just couldn’t control themselves perpetuates a shameful standard.
July 21, 2014 @ 4:47 pm
While I see where you’re coming from you can’t necessarily trust people to be responsible or act appropriately especially these days, especially these days in certain crowds, & especially in certain crowds when drinking is involved. Some cougar lady goes out for a night of fun & drinks with her friends & suddenly she’s out for balls. You just never know. People are weirdos. Being a woman, if I were a scantily clad (which I have no problem with) pop star that had been heavily marketed on image I certainly wouldn’t give drunk male fans an opportunity to touch me in a situation similar to this. I’m sure fans that pay big money to be up front do have touching fantasies (Mcgraw balls eww). I see meet and greats being different. It seems like the woman is being held accountable. I guess she went to jail or something, but it seems like security reacted very quickly & the only thing in danger were his jeans.
July 21, 2014 @ 5:26 pm
Nope, I can’t accept that argument. Flip the situation around. A girl goes to a club, dances all night. Then gets assulted in the parking lot by one of the men she was dancing with. He says they had been dancing provacatively all night. She was dressed like she wanted it. No matter what he says it’s un acceptable. No matter the situation, the conditions and so called whatever, it’s never acceptable for another person to violate someone else. No one is ever asking for it.
Also, I realize you’re talking just about the video and I’m talking about a bigger picture.
July 21, 2014 @ 5:48 pm
Yes I agree that no one deserves to be assaulted, especially in a Thelma & Louise kind of situation. I am specifically talking about this video. It seems like he was prepared for the situation with security & all. So I don’t see that the slap was necessary. I’m just saying due to being in the public eye, with the way he has been marketed, & especially after this incident walking out in the audience maybe isn’t the best idea. I’m sure with perpetuating stereotypes in songs such as truck yeah he is not drawing in an overall intellectually superior or respectful crowd. Just a theory.
July 28, 2014 @ 2:55 am
Brittany, you are such a hypocrite. You’re saying his clothing makes it acceptable for her to grope him, but if a man gropes a scantily-clad woman, he’s wrong?
Women who hold these double-standard views are the biggest hypocrites.
July 21, 2014 @ 6:21 pm
Umm…I’m not sure you’ve ever seen a rapper. Pretty sure they wear the opposite of tight jeans.
July 21, 2014 @ 12:03 pm
imagine the tables turned and a man grabbing a woman on stage. any artist on stage should be allowed to protect themselves. women go to war, fight, and are sometimes just plane ole badasses for whatever reason. you should be allowed to defend yourself from physical harm no matter who the offender. period. don’t lay your hands on a woman doesn’t apply here.. period.
July 21, 2014 @ 12:15 pm
I mean really how are you going to go out in a crowd of predominately drunk women crouch down invite fans to touch you & then slap one that gets handsy?
July 21, 2014 @ 1:10 pm
But there’s a large difference between fans casually slapping your legs and physically grabbing, and ripping, your jeans. The former is kind of implied and consented to the minute the performer walks onto the catwalk, however the latter is clearly a step too far.
I understand that it’s one of those things that is difficult to articulate, i.e. once you’ve permitted some physical contact where does the limit lie?, but most people tend to know the limit when they see it.
July 21, 2014 @ 4:20 pm
You’re exercising a double standard here. It’s like saying he asked for it, which is patently offensive (at best and downright dangerous at worst) when people say that about women who dress provocatively. Just because your jeans are torn and your shirt it tight, it isn’t consent to be groped (or worse). Whether the slap was justified or not, that woman did not have consent to grab McGraw the way she did.
July 22, 2014 @ 7:48 am
The problem is Tim has spent the better part of 20 years now selling himself on sex appeal. He’s performing within grabbing distance of drunk women. This is a situation in which he should have been absolutely prepared for, but apparently he wasn’t. I don’t like Tim as an artist, but as a man I’m sure he’s a great guy. Everybody makes mistakes, but I don’t understand why he thinks he’s above an apology.
July 25, 2014 @ 11:30 am
Maybe he doesn’t think he made a mistake that needs apologizing for? He never said he made a mistake in his statement. I don’t think he made a mistake nor does he need to apologize for anything.
Could it all have been handled better, looking back on it, sure, but at that moment, that split second as he calls it, he reacted instinctively.
If you think being in the middle of a crowd that is ready to rush you, grab you, some love you some hate you (jealous husbands and boyfriends), and someone grabs you unlike anyone else… you would react calmly and properly…you my friend are dead wrong.
You react to protect yourself: some just turn and look, some swing with a punch, some swat away…everyone reacts different, but nobody is going to calmly react, nor are they going to apologize if people that have no idea of being in that situation criticize their reaction.
August 19, 2014 @ 11:43 pm
He needs to be better prepared or trained on how to deal with these types of situations that are just waiting to happen, because now people and especially his fans are looking at him in whole different way. He should man-up and apologize for hitting her…he hit a woman. His hit was far more aggressive and intentional (probably painful, too) than the near miss that she unintentionally caused.
July 21, 2014 @ 1:04 pm
The videos aren’t overly clear so it’s very hard to make out exactly what happened, but from my perspective if somebody grabs you without your consent – and somebody pulling on your jeans and going for your crotch is pretty much sexual assault – then you are allowed to defend yourself, regardless of the sex of the participants.
Of course men shouldn’t hit women, but women also shouldn’t hit men, and, fundamentally, PEOPLE shouldn’t hit PEOPLE, period. Consequently, however, somebody does hit you, be they man or woman, I believe that you are within your rights to defend yourself by taking necessary precaution.
July 21, 2014 @ 1:50 pm
Yeah, I for one have never appreciated double standards along sexual lines in general (i.e. men can go topless but women can’t, women’s birth control needs are not regarded as important health care to many but men’s specific needs are, etc.)
With me, I believe we should dissuade violence regardless of the sex. This is why I’ve said before, myself, why I’ve never liked some songs Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood have released as singles that depict the narrator murdering her ex because he cheated on her. I can understand domestic abuse, for instance, being an extreme circumstance where it would be called for, but sleeping with someone else?
To me, one should be taught not to hurt another PERSON unless your life or that of one of your loved ones was being truly threatened.
July 21, 2014 @ 3:01 pm
It’s funny you should mention those songs (Gunpowder & Lead, Two Black Cadillacs etc.), because as much as I agree that we should dissuade violence regardless of sex, I do find myself rather conflicted on them.
On the one hand, they do ultimately portray a glamourised version of murder that would be totally unacceptable in the real world. Based upon this, it’s fair to say that if we did have complete equality of the sexes, these songs would be seen as totally unacceptable by everybody, much in the same way that currently a song celebrating a man murdering his wife would be about as popular as a small genocide.
It is, however, that because we don’t have complete equality of the sexes, because women are still taught to be submissive and subservient at every level of society, that I do appreciate that these songs shatter that, albeit by showing women murder their husbands. Whilst this may not do wonders for the outdated stereotype of women as being emotionally driven and irrational, it does, at the very least, challenging the worldview of the large number of people who, often subconsciously, view women as the inferior, weaker, and more subservient sex.
In other words, yes these songs do present something that I, along with most people, find morally unacceptable, however I also can’t help but find myself rooting for the female protagonists, primarily because as individuals the last thing they are is submissive or subservient.
TL:DR, until full equality of the sexes is achieved, I think these songs may serve a purpose in achieving that goal.
July 21, 2014 @ 1:41 pm
I’m no Tim McGraw fan, but it’s refreshing to have him not give some candy-coated apology that he doesn’t even mean. If you want to put your hands on someone, don’t be surprised when they return the favor, male or female. I won’t get into the gender equality debate here, but men truly do get fucked these days. If a popular woman slapped a man for grabbing her ass, she would be a feminist hero and adored by people as the video makes it’s rounds while the dude labeled some sexual predator. I side with Timmy on this one.
July 21, 2014 @ 1:48 pm
*its
*the dude is
July 21, 2014 @ 2:51 pm
He defended his self. How would any of you feel if some drunk grabbed and ripped your clothing. So what, he bopped her on the bean. I think she got off easy.
July 22, 2014 @ 8:47 am
“himself”
Duh!
July 21, 2014 @ 3:01 pm
It seems odd to me that, despite what must be a horrible PR scandal for the man, he’s not debating the issue. If anything, his “statement” seems to go around it, as if he’s talking to someone that knows him well, saw what he did and questioned him about it later. He’s coming at it with the toothless “everybody makes mistakes” angle without much sincerity.
July 21, 2014 @ 5:38 pm
The second video clearly shows she wasn’t grabbing his ass she was reaching near his crotch. He was probably afraid some drunk fan was about to rip off or injure his penis or balls. That was completely justified, i fear if I was in his situation I would’ve done much worse. Was he supposed to let her tear off his front pocket and risk being naked on stage or worse injured?
July 21, 2014 @ 6:32 pm
Its always sad to hear of another country music super star having his balls ripped off on stage. How many more times does this have to happen before we all say “hey, leave them star-balls alone!”
July 21, 2014 @ 10:49 pm
To be fair, most modern country music superstars don’t have any balls.
July 21, 2014 @ 6:07 pm
No violence either way. No groping either way. No thinking just because of your sex you can get away with overstepping boundaries, EITHER WAY! True equality is the only real equality; all else is a mockery of equality.
July 21, 2014 @ 6:52 pm
I don’t condone violence against anyone, particularly women, but any criticism he’s faced is a huge double standard, considering that Miranda was applauded for punching a dude, pretty much unprovoked.
We want equality, and yet we applaud women for things we don’t allow men to do, no matter the circumstances. This woman could have grabbed Tim’s crotch and people would still be criticizing him for his reaction. Quite simply, I don’t think it would have mattered what the sex of the individual was, Tim would have reacted this way. That’s what we should be focusing on, here–an individual protecting himself.
July 21, 2014 @ 8:32 pm
Bottom line (pun intended), if a performer gets too close to the stage and lets fans touch him/her, this kind of incident easily happens. Stay a little ways back from the fans and problem solved.
July 21, 2014 @ 8:38 pm
I’m very disappointed in his statement. To me he’s not saying what he feels, he’s saying what a fucking lawyer wrote. His mothers, sisters and he were abused by his stepfather when he was a child. He has a platform and he should use it.
July 21, 2014 @ 8:41 pm
I said it on the other thread, but this is a double standard. Women have been shouting for their equal rights since Womens Suffrage.
I don’t fault him at all. She was out of line. There are crazy women stalkers (Alec Baldwin had one)…who would follow him into his building and wait in the lobby. She was nuttier than a fruitcake.
It was more of brush-off than a slap. He’s human. There’s a really fine line they have to walk …being real but vulnerable to every nut on the street.
John Lennon was noted for being kind to people on the street. He had kooks who would come to his house. I believe every artist or celebrity has the right to defend themself.
July 21, 2014 @ 9:17 pm
I don’t fault him either. But, I don’t for a moment believe he feels good about the second point of contact. I’ve been groped and reacted in blinding rage and was shocked by the momentary lost control. It’s something I never want to feel again.
July 22, 2014 @ 11:59 am
Where I’m from the women are just as feisty as the men. I was sucker punched by a woman on the dance floor.
She came at me….a perfect stranger and drunk as a skunk…she sucker punched me in the chest with a doubled up fist. She knocked me to my knees.
The bouncer didn’t see her but I had to put my arms over my head and curl up before she started beating me in the face.
Women can be mean as hell. Do I feel sorry for this woman. Hell no, I don’t. She had it coming. She overstepped her boundaries.
He didn’t hit her, he brushed her off. Yes, he’s sorry….but she’s the one who owes him an apology. Now he has to go on the talk-show-apology-please-don’t-hate-me-tour.
July 21, 2014 @ 8:43 pm
My Dad taught me never to lay a hand on a woman…EVER! And I have been in worse scenarios. (Not to bore but) Once a female in the front row took my mic stand while I was singing between lyrics and swung it like a bat and poof…bleeding like a stuck pig from my mouth in front of hundreds of people…! What did I do?… Thought of what I was taught and finished the song full of blood till security removed the drunken woman then took a short break to clean my Telecaster before the blood rusted the strings. NEVER STRIKE A WOMAN!!! Period! Maybe Timothy was never taught that…
July 21, 2014 @ 9:20 pm
You were probably dumbstruck with shock. If she had grabbed you from behind and nearly knocked you off stage you might have swung out. Do be so confident that you could never be challenged.
July 21, 2014 @ 9:29 pm
don’t not do 🙂
July 21, 2014 @ 9:21 pm
…and I hope you changed your setlist.
July 22, 2014 @ 8:04 am
I think this type of argument has limits. If Ronda Rousey was beating you mercilessly, you might want to think about fighting back.
July 22, 2014 @ 11:26 am
This Is easy. If Tim doesn’t want to be touched maybe Tim should not put himself in that situation. Stay back away from your fans and sing other people’s songs while you shake your ass in your tight fitting jeans. That way you don’t have to put your hand on a woman & we don’t have to think you are an even bigger douchebag than we already do. Maybe you will appreciate what few fans you have left when you are playing the county fair circuit in a few years?
July 22, 2014 @ 1:26 pm
The biggest issue is that he STOPPED SINGING and he’s still ‘singing’.. so I’m rather bothered by the lip syncing more than the pants ripping or the hag-slapping.
July 22, 2014 @ 1:31 pm
As much as I’d love to bust Tim McGraw on this, it is clearly the backup singers continuing with the song, not a backing track that Tim McGraw was singing to. He may be using Autotune. He may lip sync at times, I don’t know. But that was not the case here.
July 22, 2014 @ 6:59 pm
then again, he is wearing a wife beater. I think anyone who attends one of his shows should be slapped silly for supporting this garbage pretending to be music.
July 22, 2014 @ 6:59 pm
then again, he is wearing a wife beater.
July 25, 2014 @ 11:15 am
Hindsight is easy here folks.
In my opinion, I think we are being way to liberal with the word “violence” here. I don’t consider what the fan did or Tim did, as violent. I think Tim’s statement is well put. I don’t think he needs to say violence against women is wrong. This is far from violence against women. He swatted away a fan that crossed a line…happened to be a woman. If it were a gay man, would he need to speak out about violence against gay men?
Also, you have to consider:
1. He is on stage and although he is having a good time, making a shit ton of money, and has a pretty cool life, he is very vulnerable on stage to someone and he has NO IDEA what the fans around him are thinking or capable of.
For him to “wait for security”, even 2-3 seconds could be a mistake.
Sure we can say she just wanted to touch him because he is a goodlooking guy, like 100’s of others are, but at the moment, Tim has no clue what her thought is or if she is even really a she.
Don’t for a moment think that these artists and their security don’t consider jealous lunatic guy dressing as a woman to get a shot at someone like Tim because their woman loves him.
2. When you go to any concert or sporting event or any event, maybe you get a quick handshake or high five from a participant/athlete/artist. Beyond that, you don’t take it upon yourself to grab or hug or anything or maybe the artist won’t slap you, but the security will man-handle you.
I do think McGraw needs to grow up a bit and realize his career is decent enough he doesn’t need to compete with the FGL or Luke Bryans of the world these days. Put on a shirt, pick quality music and sing. (by the way, he stopped singing in that clip, and I still heard him singing???)
Again, this incident is far far far from violence against women and given Tim’s track record of never being involved in some domestic incident, lets not expect him to become the spokesperson to lead the movement. She’s lucky she didn’t get his boot across the face (or Faith’s high heel had she been up on stage with him).
July 25, 2014 @ 2:35 pm
His jeans were already ripped and he has plenty of money to buy new ones so I can’t see where that could be any justification for hitting a woman. YOU DON’T HIT GIRLS, PERIOD. He didn’t swat her head, he SLAPPED her open handed, and hard…upside her face and head. If he doesn’t want people touching his legs at concerts then he needs to require a partition space with lined security of 3 yards from the stage between himself and the fans lie some other performers do. This was far from sexual assault. His PR people are trying to cast it in a positive light. And why wouldn’t they? They make tons of money off his performances and fame.The police didn’t press charges because he is famous. He should have been arrested. I’d be totally embarrassed to be his wife…fame, looks, and money-or not. Being rich and famous doesn’t make you a real man. I am not a fan. I am totally over him and his wife and prefer real country music over the sugary studio creation pop-stuff they churn out anyway.
July 28, 2014 @ 7:50 am
Joyce,
I agree with you, you don’t hit girls. I think McGraw would agree with you too. But when you are on stage as a performer/artist and someone crosses the line, and we all know the line when we are sober and think about it, all bets are off. Sure you can lawyer up and try to cash in on some pay day, but common sense tells us to let the performer perform, don’t touch, grab, etc…
Tim McGraw doesn’t know what this fan is trying to do. He actually doesn’t even know if she is a she or a he disguised as a she or what the hell they might be up to.
Whatever his choice of clothing, stage design, etc… fans should never cross the line or you are going to get dealt with by security pretty hardcore if not the performer as in this case.
Everyone talking about what he is wearing etc…. When I go to a strip club, the girls are naked dancing on my face…. I know not to touch them. If I do, she will probably slap me and the security will kick my ass out back.
She needs to take responsibility for what she did…say sorry to McGraw rather than lawyer up, and then maybe she will get an apology back from him. You don’t need a lawyer for apologies.
July 25, 2014 @ 6:58 pm
No slap, clear swipe across the top of her hair. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QLLMXFipZ4
July 26, 2014 @ 8:27 am
The longer video shows her slapping his butt twice and moving down the stage. Then she grabbed him and he almost fell over. She did deserve it. It was a natural defense that your body goes into when someone attacks you. She should of kept her hands to herself or just kept to hand shaking. As for the comments above….Rappers talk all kinds of crap….kill cops….women are bitches and ho’s. Violence all the time in their music. So don’t put it on other singers that they sing about killling their husbands in those women’s who sing those country songs. That there is a double standard. Tim should stick to his guns and bounce this lawsuit, her and lawyer out of the court room.
July 26, 2014 @ 4:02 pm
I’ve heard a lot of people talking about how this woman “assaulted” Tim and he wa defending himself. Basically, Tim was asking for it. I mean, look at what he was wearing.
July 26, 2014 @ 6:04 pm
I get that. I always wear tight jeans and a tank top when I want to get felt up.
July 4, 2015 @ 3:38 pm
this video when the women touched him in the wrong way tim mcgraw’s married to faith hill and why did she touched him and wrong way he should’ve pressed charges that women is disgusting she can think she had a brain thats totally disgusting when i get married if my husband was a singer like him and touched him in the wrong way i’ll be mad too and ticked off
July 4, 2015 @ 3:40 pm
and tim mcgraw had to defend himself so great job tim!!!!!! mcrgraw way to go if was you if some touch me there i will defend myself the same way like you