When going to a concert in 2015, you never know what to expect. Artists think of bigger and better ways to shock the crowd. Pyrotechnics, trapeze artists and wild animals are all common props during concerts today, but I don’t think anyone would’ve imaged seeing a WWE smackdown at the Kevin Gates concert.
Rapper Kevin Gates made a lasting impression on one Florida teen during his Aug. 28 concert. Video footage shows a young woman reaching for Gates’ pant leg. Gates pauses, and kicks the young woman by the name of Miranda Dixon in the chest.
According to the victim’s mother, the young woman passed out after being kicked in the chest. Dixon and her family have pressed charges against Gates. Local police have submitted a battery report to the Florida State Attorney’s office for review.
18-year-old Dixon later claimed on social media that she was not the one who reached for Gates. “Therefore he had no business touching me.” The post was later removed, and Dixon has made no further comment on the situation.
Criticism and threats on social media followed the performance. Previous Gates fans and advisories protested Gates’ behavior. Over 7,000 Florida citizens signed a petition to have him banned from performing in the state. Gates briefly responded to criticism “Kill me, when you see me it’s dat simple,” he wrote on Twitter.
Gates also released his public statement and somewhat of an apology via a new song titled “The Truth.” In the song Gates gives his version of the incident and why he responded the way he did. First, Gates apologizes for overreacting. He then goes on to explain that the young woman grabbed his privates and he warned her more than once to stop touching him before reacting harshly. He reasoned that his children were backstage and blamed the young woman for not acting like a queen and respecting herself.
Even with all of the criticism, Gates continues to be his own person. If it means blasting followers on social media, or calling out an issue in a song Gates doesn’t hold back. To take it a step further, despite management’s requests to cancel his show Gates went through with his Tampa, Fla., performance. The Tampa show took place the weekend following the incident; there were no problems at the performance.
Gates sums up his thoughts on the incident at the end of ”The Truth,” ‘To all my haters, you make me invincible.” Now, we all know that Gates is known and loved for his brutal honesty and nonchalant attitude, but where does that edginess end? Are people allowed to mistreat, and disrespect others, because of their persona?–
Gates has admitted to suffering from depression, but could anger management be added to the roster? Thus far in the year 2015, Gates has had two incidents, including the kick, involving physical violence with young women. At a concert in March, Gates got into a fist fight with a fan attempting to touch him. A second young woman got too close and Gates began fighting her as well.
Gates has even posted social media videos, asking a woman to do sexual favors for his dog, as in a canine. Later, while performing at Grambling, Gates called out a young woman for looking at her phone while he was performing, even making a comment about her feet.
I’ll be the first to admit that some of Gates’ outrageous opinions and actions can be entertaining. But, at what point does humor cross over into disrespect.?
Why is it OK to treat other people’s daughters, sisters,and mothers so aggressively, and expect your own to be respected? When do we actually hold people accountable for throwing celebrity tantrums? Can people really get away with being a common bully, as long as they have street credibility? Has Kevin Gates decided to — show instead of tell — what “Penitentiary rules in full effect” means? And when was it ever “Legal to beat yo h*e.”