A Georgia singer is accused of slapping a woman, causing two black eyes, during a performance as police issued an arrest warrant for the alleged assault.
Soul singer Sky Whatley was charged with simple battery for his caught-on-video strike of a woman, identified as Shamika Boyd, when he was onstage at the Legendary Awards Show & Concert on Sept. 6, 11Alive reported.
A warrant was issued for Whatley earlier this week, but police have not arrested the musician, according to the outlet.
Whatley, who has roughly 3,500 monthly listeners on Spotify, was performing inside Londzell Performing Arts Theatre in Tucker, Georgia, when he allegedly slapped Boyd unprovoked.
“When he hit me, I was devastated because I’m thinking, ‘Why did he hit me? He had no reason to hit me,’” Boyd told the outlet back in September.
Boyd had gone to the event to support her DJing daughter.
She was hit with enough force to pop out the composite material on her tooth and sustained two black eyes, according to the outlet.
“That’s the part that I don’t understand when I did nothing to him,” Boyd said about the alleged unwarranted strike. “He was in no harm, no threat or anything.”
Boyd claims that Whatley also made a crude gesture towards her and cursed her out after hitting her.
“After he flipped me off, he was like, ‘Eff you B, this is for the real men,’” Boyd said.
Boyd reported the incident to the police after the show but nothing was done of the alleged assault until this week.
Boyd’s lawyer blasted law enforcement officials for the slow response to the caught-on-camera attack.
“They’re just not doing their job,” Boyd’s attorney Shannin Render told the outlet. “I’ve done this for about 10 years now, and when there’s an active warrant, you get picked up. Especially with something of such notoriety. Unfortunately, Ms. Boyd let me know that they’re deciding not to go forward and they’re going to let him turn himself in.”
Boyd is looking into pursuing legal action against Whatley and seeking compensation for medical treatment and potential loss of income, Render revealed.
“It’s not appropriate for you to enter a venue for you to be assaulted and then have to carry the burden of your medical expenses, transportation fees, and the recovery process of not being able to work or things of that nature,” Render said.
“So, that’s where we come in to establish who was accountable and hold them accountable.”
