A man repeatedly punched by Mike Tyson in a viral video taken on a JetBlue flight is suing the former heavyweight champ — 2 years after the incident
- In 2022, footage went viral of Mike Tyson repeatedly punching a fellow passenger on a JetBlue flight.
- Two years later, the passenger, Melvin Townsend, is suing Tyson for damages.
- Tyson’s representatives told Business Insider he will “be 100% refuting these ridiculous claims.”
A man who was punched repeatedly by Mike Tyson in first-class on a flight in 2022 has filed a lawsuit against the former boxing champion and airline JetBlue.
The incident occurred on a late-night flight from San Francisco to Florida on April 20, 2022 and went viral after video footage filmed by another passenger was shared by TMZ.
Tyson’s reps told the Associated Press at the time that the man seated behind Tyson was “an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat.”
In an episode of his podcast a month after the incident, Tyson said the passenger was “fucking with me,” adding that he shouldn’t fly on “public planes.”
Around the same time, the San Mateo County District Attorney said it would not file criminal charges against the former world heavyweight champion, citing “the circumstances surrounding the confrontation.”
“It is simply a case that does not belong in the criminal court. If they want to sue each other, that’s their business,” the DA said.
Mike Tyson Repeatedly Punches Man In Face On Plane, Bloodies Passenger | TMZ Sports
In December 2023, the passenger, Melvin Townsend, sent a “pre-litigation settlement demand” requesting $450,000 to resolve the incident without taking it to court, the LA Times reported.
Tyson’s lawyer told the Times there would be no “shakedown payment.”
On April 19, 2024, Townsend filed a complaint with the San Mateo County Superior Court, one day before a two-year statute of limitations came into effect for some of the claims.
Per Townsend’s account of the incident in the complaint, he and a friend noticed they were seated directly behind Tyson as they boarded the plane.
Townsend, then 36, claims he initiated a conversation with the star, expressing admiration for Tyson’s “illustrious boxing career” and buying alcoholic drinks for him and themselves.
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