Last week, various outlets were talking about how Tim McGraw had “slapped” a woman in the middle of one of his concerts. I glanced over some coverage, and read that the woman had grabbed him inappropriately (some said she grabbed his crotch) and he basically pushed her back. TMZ released two videos – taken from different angles – of the incident. I’ve watched both of them. I don’t really see the crotch grab? She grabs his leg, from what I can see. Like, she comes close to grabbing his butt and he leans down and sort of slaps her head the same way Jethro Gibbs slaps Tony on NCIS (excellent reference).
So, I don’t know. Is this “Tim McGraw rudely slaps innocent fan”? Is this “Tim McGraw: Woman Beater”? Or is this “Female fans should stop man-handling Tim McGraw”? I feel like it’s something in between. The fan shouldn’t have grabbed him but I think Tim’s response was kind of gross. Anyway, Tim issued a statement about it:
After video footage of a female fan grabbing Tim McGraw’s pant leg at his Atlanta show on July 13 – and him slapping back in response – made headlines last week, the singer is speaking out and sharing his side of the story.
“Sometimes things can lose context and perspective. I reacted in an instinctive, defensive way from my perspective of what was going on,” McGraw tells ET Canada. 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,” he says. “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.”
Yeah, I sort of agree with him. It was unfortunate all the way around and neither party should have done what they did. Incidentally, in the first video I posted, you can see the security guy going in for that woman as soon as Tim slaps her. TMZ also spoke to law enforcement types in Atlanta (where this incident went down) and they say that they looked at the video and it seems like Tim may be the victim in the eyes of the law. They also say that the woman has not come forward or filed any charges or anything so the Atlanta PD will not investigate any further. Sounds about right.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Buying a concert ticket does not give you the right to paw the entertainment.
+1 ive almost been crushed to death at so many shows from people trying to touch the singer or band or whatever. i never understood the need to haha
Didn’t some a**hole slap Beyonce’s butt while she was walking past him during her concert last year?
Yeah, she made security escort him outside the venue.
If this was a woman entertainer and a man in the audience grabbed her and she responded by “slapping” him away, we would all be cheering. No one should put their hands on anyone. The female fan was in the wrong, IMO….
Agreed. She was wrong to grab him.
I think it’s a reflex action. If someone grabs you I think you have a right to pop them.
Totally agree
I’m fine with the fact that he slapped her arm away, and I agree she was a total jerk and completely out of line. What I don’t approve of is that second slap to her head. If you watch the video carefully, he slaps her away, but after she let’s go and security is coming to get her, he stoops down and slaps her again in retaliation. I think that’s gross and inappropriate. I’m not saying “he asked for it” at all, but he intentionally put himself in a vulnerable situation, and he should have been mentally prepared for it and how to handle it, or he shouldn’t do it. This isn’t the first time this has happened to him. He had every right to slap her away, but then he should have let security handle it. She should be banned from concerts for life. And yes, I would feel the same way if the sexes were reversed. You can protect yourself, but retaliation lowers you to the offender’s level.
ITA,@ GoodNamesAllTaken. It was that second slap to her head/face that made me say “Whoa”. Of course she should not have grabbed him like that. I have seen fans hold out their hands to be touched by the singer-that’s fine. But no, you do not have the right to grab the thighs of the person onstage-male of female. You also should not slap someone in the head/face unless they ae attackig you. This was not a good night for either of them.
Exactly how I feel. I understand the first reflexive action. The second slap? Not so much.
I agree that it was unfortunate all-around. I like Tim McGraw and he doesn’t strike me as someone who has a mean bone in his body. Maybe he was just having an off-night but he should have let security handle things for him.
Just watched the video again…I hadn’t noticed the second slap…I agree, that was totally wrong, and he should have just let security handle this person…
I feel like I could have written your comment. That’s almost verbatim what I said to someone when this went down. Slapping her hand away is instinctual. Smacking her in the head a second time is not instinctive.
I just watched the video for the 1st time and I watched the shorter one 3 times. Looks to me like there may have been a 3rd slap coming but someone from behind grabs his arm before the swing! Am I wrong? Wtf w/dat?
The first movement of his knocking her hand away (she had enough of him that it stopped him from moving forward) and the second movement of his slap were almost in the same motion. His hand goes back, to knock her away, then moves forward for the slap. As others have said, the price of a ticket doesn’t justify pawing the entertainment. Oh and I still don’t like him or his wife. LOL.
You said it first. One was fight or flight, I don’t know what happened after that. At any rate, people can’t go around just putting their hands on everyone. It’s gross and scary and gross.
True
Totally agree. I like that he’s not crowing about how he was right though.
Agreed
Agree 100%. Tim has nothing to apologize for and he did nothing wrong. Can’t believe anyone thinks he is in the wrong in any way. On a side note, I do wonder if he actually like wearing those ridiculous belt buckles or is he only doing it for credibility among the country crowd.
He may like the buckles. My fiancé is from Texas and he loves certain giant belt buckles. He also favors large artsy rings that, uh, really draw the eye and sometimes garner rude comments. People in every other state think the rings are strange, but he says that in TX they’re normal. I’ve grown accustomed to the belt buckles, dislike but tolerate the rings, and love the guy. 🙂
This is the second time this has happened to Tim McGraw. A few years ago some other fan reached up and touched his crotch! Faith Hill was on stage with him and she was incensed and yelled something like, “Have some class!”
So, I’m gonna say he was justified to defend himself against a stranger touching anywhere near his genital or butt area. That’s totally uncalled for.
Yes! I was going to comment with the same thing. Faith Hill going off on that crowd was awesome. I’m not saying he was right to go in for the extra slap…not touching that with a 10-foot pole…but it’s crazy that people feel ENTITLED to grab famous people.
She didn’t yell have some class. She went off on the chick the best she could. They should have filed or threatened to file a suit against that fan. Ridiculous
If Tim was a woman and the female fan was a man, everyone would be on the woman’s side. You never know as a performer what the fan will do, so I think this is not a case of “woman-beater”.
It’s a case of crazy fans with no respect. It makes me mad that it’s not anywhere near as upsetting to people that a man was sexually assaulted, but if it was a woman we’d be bringing out the pitchforks and torches.
Just look at all the jokes and responses from when Solange assaulted Jay-Z. Many people, and on here no less, were making excuses for her and saying that he cheated on Bey. As if that gives Solange a good excuse to do what she did.
For some reason when a man is a victim of incidences like these, the general response is that it’s okay. Not all men want to be groped. TMZ reported this as if the woman was the victim. Agree that if a woman was groped it would be the man who would be attacked.
From the looks of the video Tim was slapping the fan before even seeing if it was a man or woman, I think he was just trying to save his family jewels! I agree with other posters, if this was a woman performer no one would say anything. I almost didn’t recognize Tim, he has definitely lost weight and put on a lot of muscle.
I don’t think he’s a women beater or whatever, he clearly just reacted and it’s unfortunate but that fan should never have grabbed him. But everyone saying ‘if this were a women the reaction would be different…. not so much.
When beyonce’s butt got slapped, a lot of people were saying on here and elsewhere ‘well if you parade half naked what do expect’ kinda thing. And she didn’t even hit him she just scolded him. So i think female performers sometimes get cut less slack because they’re in skimpier outfits. Bottom line, nobody should be touched or manhandled ever.
Thank you for saying this. I was going to bring up the reaction to Beyoncé’s onstage assault too. There were PLENTY of commenters saying she deserved it because of how she was dressed or because she’s a performer and should be used to crazy fans. So please, just NO with the predictable cries of “double-standard”.
That’s incredibly sad. I clearly missed that post.
I agree Karen. Most of the commenters were saying exactly that about Beyonce. The double standards run plenty around here.
BTW that woman not only grabbed Tim, she ripped his jeans by pulling on the small rip that came with the jeans. And yes he can buy another pair but it’s not about money it’s about principles and being violated.
I want to point out too that there is another video out there that shows the moment before she started grabbing him and pulling at his pants. Prior to those actions, she had been slapping him on the ass repeatedly as he was walking. She overstepped in so many ways.
You have to understand that Beyonce’ isn’t a favorite around these parts (along with Halle), so they will never get the benefit of the doubt when things go sour. It will ALWAYS be their fault to a certain degree. People even managed to blame her for the elevator incident. As in Solange was fighting ‘her’ battle.
I don’t like Bey but I was PISSED at the fan that smacked her ass, as well as the people saying ‘That’s what you get for shoving your ass in people’s faces!!’ Hello! No one should be touched without their consent! Just because someone is an entertainer doesn’t mean you can just touch them.
I dont know. I’m not defending the leg grabber but this, and much worse, happens to every female stage performer, and to most good looking males (especially if they are in a boyband). And it happens ALOT. Pick your fav lady singer and google “crazy fan”. Its awful. The standard response is to let the security know, usually by pointing. Sometimes, they call the person out over the mic. Unless the offence is truly eggregious (sp), you. dont. hit.
Hitting the offender can go wrong in so many ways. Suppose you strike the wrong person? Suppose theres a legitimate reason that they are holding you, say maybe the crowd is physically pushing him/her forward? Suppose you strike a sensitive spot and do disproportionate damage? Suppose your actions trigger a dangerous reaction from the crowd, like maybe they surge forward to take a look? Hes been in the business long enough to know better than this. Yes, its a horrible thing to have happen to you but this was a stupid reaction on his part.
None of those reasons would be plausible if people kept their hands to themselves. He’s on stage, in a sense WORKING. How would you feel if someone tried to manhandle you at work? The fan is at fault 100%.
She’s right bad things happen to female singers all the time…especially female so…he doesnt have an excuse.
It’s too hard to see what really happened from these videos. I feel like he could have stepped back and put his hands up, clearly indicating that’s not cool, but I do understand it’s instinctual. Just a bit odd that his first instinct is to slap.
My father knows Faith Hill and Tim McGraw having dealt with them through his work and he says that both are genuinely lovely and kind individials.
While I do not subscribe to Kanye’s idea of “being a celebrity is akin to the struggle of African Americans in the 1960’s” b.s, I do believe that some fans go overboard in trying to get attention from their idols. Like someone said up the thread, a price of admission does not entitle you to grab at the person performing and rip clothing or drag them off stage as I have seen at some concerts.
+1000
Not a country music fan but I always liked these two a lot for some reason.
I saw them live in Vegas. We won tickets, which was a big deal because the list price was almost $300 bucks. Anyway, they put on a great show together and let me tell you, Faith Hill can sing her tail off. I feel like most divas lose their voice as they age, but she sounds better than ever.
I’ve only heard positive things about Tim and Faith. Last week I watched a tear-jerker of a video clip of Tim sitting on the stage at one of his concerts, singing to a little girl that appeared to have Down Syndrome. It looked like an impromptu thing. I read that he had been singing the song (You Are So Beautiful) for his daughters and wife, and the little girl’s dad set her on the edge of the stage… and he ended up singing to this sweet little girl. She was giddy with excitement… and at the end of the song he gave her a big hug and kissed her on the head. He then proceeded to sign the guitar he was using, unplugged it and gave it to her. It was really beautiful and genuine (and yes, made me cry).
No, I don’t think Tim is the wife/female beater type…. at all. He’s been performing for a long time, and probably puts up with a lot of grabbing and groping, this time he didn’t.
Thanks for sharing that story.
He’s too thin and wiry. I feel like this is slightly unnatural for him. Also too tan. Either he’s vain or he’s got a quiet problem.
From what I read when he quit drinking he started working out. He could be addicted to that now, but at least it’s a much more healthy and positive thing to be addicted to.
From what I read, she wouldn’t let go at first. He could have tripped. Then he was mad about it. I went to look on the video when it was on another site and some inflammatory heading expecting to see a hit or a big slap, but all I could see was him swat at her angrily. I can’t really tell from the video and never re-watched it again to get a better view.
I can see teenage girls/boys getting worked into a lather at these events and getting “grabby”, but adults? Even drunk?? Anyway, perhaps he should re- think his crowd interactions, bec his performances seem to incite this reaction, and clearly he doesn’t approve.
Ugh, did we really even have to mention the phrase “woman beater” here? It’s grossly overused, particularly online. Anyone watching that video and hearing you say that would think you are nuts. It’s the boy who cried wolf and before long people stop taking it seriously. It’s already an insanely hard thing to prosecute domestic violence with scared or troubled victims, and yes, sometimes false accusations. It’s terrifying.
How about not getting down there where you can be “man-handled?” Obviously women can’t stop touching a man in skin tight jeans.
you can clearly see her grab and pull on his pants, tearing them….100% inappropriate
Unless your life is in danger I don’t think a man should slap/hit a woman. Even Jay-Z could refrain himself, and Solange was way more agressive than the woman on the video…
That being said, nobody should grab any part of anybody without permission!
Agree with everything up until the second slap, which I guess happened bc he got really ticked off. But he sounds regretful and doesn’t go off on the woman in the statement. Just seems a stark contrast from Brad Paisley when a fan was holding an infant in the pit of his show and was escorted out (she claims it was bc she was breastfeeding). Now, that’s hardly the smartest thing to do, but he kept saying over and over in his statement how wrong she was. Wonder if she feels like crap now. Just saying.
She was wrong though. She’s playing victim and what she did was child endangerment. Maybe hearing it from the star she likes will cause her to step back and think about how stupid she acted, endangering her 4-month infant like that.
This kind of thing is becoming a problem for all types of performers. I have heard Iggy Azalea and a few male rap artists who have complained about being groped and fingered in their concerts. Amazing what people think they are entitled to when they pay for a ticket.
I recently saw the Script on tour with OneRepublic. Danny O’Donoghue ran out into the aisles several times, and once way up into the higher levels. We were in orchestra, so got good views of him high-fiving fans. He was wearing a long trench coat and we clearly saw one very pissy-looking security person trying desperately to keep up with/hold onto him every time. I’m guessing Danny is a security nightmare, lol.
I was in the pit at the Tim McGraw concert in Tampa — Tim is a great performer and really plays off the crowd. He gets real close and high fives everyone and sits down right in front of fans on the walkway and plays his slower songs. It was an awesome experience and one of my favorite concerts ever.
Anyways, even at that concert some people beside me were taking advantage of how friendly and up close Tim gets to his fans. I saw one woman pat his bum and another kiss her lips and then touch his boot — it was just so creepy. It must be weird to have people take liberties with your body night after night. I think the second slap was uncalled for, but I’m not surprised it happened.
She grabbed someone without their consent. Slapping was a mild reaction and totally justified.
THis is what happens when the aesthetic distance between performer and audience collapses as well as the narcissism of today’s culture (this never occurred at a Led Zeppelin concert, for example); btw, can’t stand country crap; my son was at a job related conference in Orlando this year and tim performed for an hour to get a pay check; My son said it was a joke (he’s a rock, indie, jazz, blues fan); McGraw was the least talented person on the stage, although his backing musicians were very talented – Neither Tim nor Faith write or arrange their own material and they both use live autotune, so how can anyone say they are great live singers? THey are completely interchangeable with all the other generic country drivel out there.
Go see Keith Urban. He’s like a rocker in the country music world. Great guitarist and adds some great solos to his songs because of that. He even plays the banjo. His guitar collection is extensive. I can’t tell you how many non-country music fans were impressed by his concerts. His band is great. And he always does some great rock covers in his concert.
Live 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJLnYQLSrMU
and on tour where Peter Frampton came out and they did a Beatles Cover Get Back
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7cK2BHjTvo
I forgot this. And tell me he’s not adorable bringing this girl on stage who was dumped by her boyfriend and letting her pick a song for him to sing to her while she’s sitting on stage in a chair at Madison Square Garden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJFQQuCi_Vs
He way over reacted. I have been to over 300 concerts in my life and seen way worse and never saw any kind of reaction like this ever. If he doesn’t want his fans to man handle him, he shouldn’t go into into the middle of the crowd. Stand in the middle of the stage like a normal person and problem solved.
I know performers feel like they have to get close to their fans but I agree with you! Just stand on the stage where everyone can see you and sing!!!
I’m really surprised people are saying that there would be outrage if it happened to a woman. Yes there would be outrage by SOME people, but not most. With the prevalence of rape and abuse toward woman, clearly we’re not doing enough as a society. How do you reconcile those two facts?? How can we possibly be sooo outraged as a society if rape and abuse of woman is so prevalent? I’m kind of disgusted… Is this the new form of self loathing?
It was instinctual, you can see that in the video… paw paw paw… slap. There was no argument, no heated debate, no prior engagement of any kind whatsoever. He didn’t continue to strike at her, he didn’t put full force or decision into it, he just struck out. She made a bold aggressive move she shouldn’t have and he reacted, that’s normal, especially in those circumstances. Was it professional? Of course not but I can’t fault the guy for anything.
“No one should ever hit anyone for anything” is a nice concept and it works well when defining the parameters of what is acceptable behaviour but sometimes, the world isnt just the way we say it is.
Someone reported she tried to “rip” his jeans, which is funny when his jeans are so ripped.
My guess is she grabbed his leg firmly and it was a reflex.
At the risk of being that one a-hole that ruins a thread that has a particularly poignant discussion ongoing, I am just going to go ahead and comment on how incredibly hot Tim McGraw’s body is, and how the idea of a well-placed slap seems like quite an interesting idea indeed….
I know, I know.
too soon?
What bothered me more than the slap is that when he drops the mic away from his mouth and stops singing, his singing still continues. Doesn’t anyone sing live in their “concerts” anymore??
My beloved band sings live, no backing tracks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47J5f-G6AtE
My beloved band sings live, no backing tracks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47J5f-G6AtE
For dog lovers, the screen backdrop on the fourth song, Precious, at 17:48, is to die for.
Haha….noticed that.
A couple of things – I’ve seen several videos and this I think looks more like a swipe across the top of her hair and not like a slap to the face at all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QLLMXFipZ4
The singing you hear during the incident is his band. They kept playing and 3 or 4 of his band members sing background vocals.
I saw Bon Jovi in concert last year (great show BTW). At one point Jon sang a ballad while laying down on the part of the stage that pokes out into the audience and just let the women touch him. It was clear he was cool with it though, and none of them were grabby or inappropriate-they just wanted to touch him affirm they were indeed in the same room as him, or something. I don’t know.
I don’t know why some Tim McGraw’s fans are condoning his behavior or siding with him on this. I live in Nashville, TN and I see the country music stars ALL OVER the place b/c they live here. Trust me, they are… at the end of the day …just people… who grocery shop, go out to eat at local restaurants, drive their kids to school,etc….they just happen to have a talent that affords them to entertain people and make a lot of money doing it…but I say money or fame or not… a man …NO MAN…should hit a woman. He could have easily had her restrained or removed. I have a hard time seeing how a 200 pound 6 foot or so man could justify smacking a woman in the face because she grabbed his jeans at a show : o I went to tons of concerts in the 80’s when metal bands were playing..very rowdy shows…where the singers and band members had women grabbing at them all over the place…I never saw a band member or singer smack a chick in the face. EVER. Country music has been sucking lately with all it’s pop studio creation songs and this brings it to a new low : ( Think I will break out my traditional country music CD’s and change the channel when Tim McGraw’s songs are played. Bad choice on his part (and yes he did have choices here) I hope he gets the help he needs if I were Faith I’d get the heck out of that relationship and be running for the “hills”…no pun intended.