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Fans were divided after watching a viral video showing rapper Busta Rhymes hurling a drink at a female fan who physically invaded his private space by grabbing his butt.
Rhymes was walking with a group of men who appeared to be his entourage at an undisclosed indoor location when a woman calmly approached the rapper from behind and quickly goosed him.
His knee-jerk reaction to being violated was chucking the liquid contents of a beverage bottle in the direction of the offender who by that point had backed away after her stealth groping.
Online responses to the video–which was watched over three million times–sparked a lively debate from social media users who questioned whose behavior from the interaction was more inappropriate.
You can watch the video here:
\u201cBusta was not feeling that \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d had to throw the drink on her.. I don\u2019t blame him\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
Some Twitter users thought the woman should never have physically harassed him in the first place.
\u201c@KameronBennett Whyyy did she feel like she could do that\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
\u201c@KameronBennett @babybaldhead Bc why would she do that. I don\u2019t know why men or women feel so comfortable jumping into other peoples spaces & boundaries and touching people without consent. she lucky that\u2019s all he did. Everybody not touchy-feely.\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
\u201c@KameronBennett You can not disrespect someone and try to place a boundary on how they respond. If you go low, always expect others to go lower. In other words do unto others as you would have them do unto you. \n\nNobody critically thinks in these twitter comments. This situation is very simple\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
\u201c@KameronBennett I don\u2019t blame him she\u2019s lucky that he didn\u2019t press charges for sexual assault\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
\u201c@KameronBennett Famous ppl are humans too sometimes ppl have a bad day. You can\u2019t expect them to smile on yo face 24/7\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
They also thought the consequences would have been swift had the genders in the scenario been reversed.
\u201c@KameronBennett If it was the other way around . It would be a whole cancel committee in these comments\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
\u201c@Candace82115595 @KameronBennett @DeeTubman2 If the roles were reversed, he\u2019d be in handcuffs. I think she\u2019s happy to just get away with that.\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
Users also called out the double standard in a situation that typically favors victims of such harassment, not the perpetrator.
\u201c@KameronBennett A lot of women feel like they have free range to grope and touch people simply because they\u2019re women. Along with the fact that society has created this narrative that any sexual attention towards a man is welcomed and it\u2019s not. Men get uncomfortable just like we do !\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
\u201c@KameronBennett I get uncomfortable when someone simply gets too close to my personal space -no touching but it\u2019s MY space. Need to respect one another, period. Idc what skin color you hv, gender, etc-still need to respect one another. It\u2019s like we are in a \u201c anything goes\u201d bizarro world.\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
\u201c@KameronBennett Why do ppl feel like it is okay to invade other folks personal space... this isn't okay if it were the other way around and she wanted to sue him for harassment yall would support it. STOP TOUCHING FOLKS WITHOUT CONSENT DAMN...\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
And some people questioned the existence of a debate at all.
\u201c@KameronBennett The woman is definitely in the wrong but he does have a history of acting this way even when they approach him properly. \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffe\u200d\u2640\ufe0f\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
\u201c@KameronBennett Was the drink a reflex throw? It seems like he didn\u2019t know if it were a woman or man but felt a grab- violation\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
\u201c@KameronBennett And everybody said was throwing the drink really necessary. It isn\u2019t that it was necessary or not\u2026. He reacted quickly to that.. that\u2019s what people do. Lmfaoooo.\u201d— DJ Kam Bennett (@DJ Kam Bennett) 1676388547
The Shade Room identified the woman as Nikita Mathis, the owner of Platinum Plus Fashions Boutique.
Mathis shared her side of the story, claiming her action was an honest mistake.
She said she just wanted to grab his attention for a photo op.
"I didn’t mean to touch his behind honestly I was just happy to meet him and wanted a pic been a long time fan I admit I shouldn’t have touch him at all but he’s BUSTA."
"I felt like I could possibly get a pic…"
Rhymes recently performed at the 2023 Grammys, where the 50-year-old performed in a celebration honoring the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop.
Interestingly, the song he performed alongside Spliff Star that night was, “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See."
Well, that should've been the first clue for Mathis.