Busta Rhymes was met by London police officers in the city’s Heathrow Airport on Monday after he allegedly had a verbal altercation with a female passenger on an airplane.
The rapper — real name Trevor George Smith Jr. — was traveling on British Airways at the time from New York to London, when it was said he became upset at the woman for putting her bag in his overhead bin.
According to the Daily Mail, Rhymes and the woman began to argue once he told her to “move your stuff,” which her husband said he was witness to. He also told Rhymes to leave his wife alone, who cried during the argument.
“He was towering over my wife’s seat and she was terrified,” said the man, who didn’t want to be named.
Other witnesses got involved in the matter as well and tried to calm Rhymes down. The pilot of the aircraft also came out to mediate things.
The 47-year-old rhymer was seen on video too, talking to a man who intervened. Allegedly, the guy said he felt threatened because Rhymes said they’d handle the situation once they landed. But in a video, the rapper explained he only meant they’d talk things out once in London.
“The thing that’s getting out of hand is, you patronize me when I’m out here talking to the powers that be,” Rhymes could be heard saying. “You looking at me and laughing in my face. We’re all grown. There’s no reason for you to be jumping involuntarily, including yourself in this discussion that had nothing to do with you.”
British Airways released a statement to People and said the pilot gave passengers the option of moving away from from the argument, and the flight didn’t continue until everyone said they were “happy” to proceed.
Then before the plane landed, one of the passengers contacted the authorities, who were waiting for the New York artist when it landed in London — which was on Tuesday slightly before 7 a.m. But Rhymes wasn’t arrested.
“Officers at Heathrow were requested by the airline of an inbound plane to Heathrow Airport from the US following an alleged verbal altercation involving several passengers,” said a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police.
Then on Thursday Rhymes responded to the witnesses’ allegations and seemed to have a different take altogether.
“Change the Narrative… Continuous Blessings. This is for Inspiration only,” he captioned an Instagram video.
“They want to create a narrative? Well, this is how we answer back those narratives,” he said in the clip.
