A Black woman says she didn’t receive the same compassion as other influencers who came forward with their stories about how a man randomly punched them in New York City.
Jess, @jesslovesblueberrybagels on TikTok, said a homeless man swung, spit, and yelled at her earlier this month. To make matters worse, she received a bus ticket from a cop shortly afterward and shared her experience on the platform. Despite this, she was met with negative feedback from people in her comment section.
“People were saying the homeless man should have had better aim and swung harder. People were messaging me calling me just about every slur in the book and saying really terrible things,” Jess said on TikTok, tearfully adding that someone said the attacker should have sexually assaulted her.
“After I made the original post and people were leaving me all the comments and sending me… rude messages, I made a post saying that people don’t believe Black women. People were commenting on it [saying] race card, you’re being dramatic,” she continued.
Her remarks come as several women online have opened up about being punched in the face by men in the city. Their videos went viral and caused widespread concern. One TikTok influencer, @halleykate, shared a video saying she was attacked on Monday while walking on the sidewalk in Manhattan, leading her to fall to the ground. She had a swollen bruise on her head, so she said she went to urgent care for treatment.
“I don’t know if he punched me or elbowed me. I literally passed out so I don’t really remember,” Halley said in a video update. “I fell to the ground and blacked out for a second. Then I got up and he was screaming at me and I was scared so I literally just ran away.”
Halley said she reported the incident to police and that they were investigating. On Wednesday her alleged attacker, identified as 40-year-old Skiboky Stora, was taken into custody, according to CBS News. He was charged with misdemeanor harassment and assault. Records show he is currently being held on New York’s Rikers Island jail on a $10,000 bond.
However, police are still investigating similar attacks reported by other women. According to the outlet, Stora has only been connected to the incident involving Halley but is still a suspect in the unresolved cases. It’s unclear if the same man attacked Jess.
In her video, Jess emphasized that people cared more for her white counterparts.
“The way that their videos have been perceived and their comment section versus my comment section for the exact same situation… is literally insane,” she said. “It’s really frustrating the way the world doesn’t believe or protect Black women ever.”
