Mike Tyson has spoken publicly for the first time since video footage showing him appearing to repeatedly punch an over-eager fan on a JetBlue flight went viral last month.
The incident took place on an April 20 flight. In video of the incident posted on Twitter, the passenger, Melvin Townsend III, is seen standing over Tyson's seat, talking loudly, and waving his arms while Tyson sits quietly in his seat. Video footage of the altercation made available by TMZ then shows a man, apparently Tyson, repeatedly punching the passenger in the face. Charges were not filed by the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.
"They said they ain't gonna pick up charges," Tyson said on the most recent episode of his "Hotboxin'" podcast. "He was [expletive] with me, man. I shouldn't even be taking public planes. My wife gets mad I take public planes."
Tyson said he took photos with Townsend before the altercation and hinted that he did not want to be traveling with security.
"A bodyguard and a … yes man. What am I gonna do on a plane?" Tyson said.
Several days after the encounter, Townsend's attorney, Matt Morgan from Morgan & Morgan, recounted the encounter from his client's perspective.
"When Mike Tyson boarded the plane, he [Townsend] became overly excited," he told TMZ. "At first, their interaction was cordial."
Morgan said that Townsend was a fan of Tyson's prior to the incident on the plane and that Tyson "became agitated" and struck Townsend repeatedly.
"At a certain point, Mr. Tyson clearly became agitated by an overly excited fan and began to strike him in an excessive manner," Morgan said. "This situation could have been avoided simply by contacting the flight attendant."
Tyson's reps said in a statement that the attack was provoked.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat," representatives for Tyson said in a statement to the New York Post.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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