The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office has charged DaBaby with felony battery after a man claimed he was physically assaulted when he tried to stop the rapper’s entourage from shooting a music video on his property back in December.
According to TMZ, the incident occurred while DaBaby (born Jonathan Kirk) and his team were renting out a mansion managed by the plaintiff, Gary Pagar. Pagar says he was told Kirk and his friends would be using the house as a vacation spot. Pagar claims that Kirk’s management team agreed to the 12-guest limit outlined in a rental agreement, but at one point during their week-long stay, Pagar says he noticed that more than 12 people were at the house.
Pagar visited the property himself on December 2nd, and allegedly found upwards of 40 people in attendance, including a film crew who were shooting a music video. Pagar claims that after he approached Kirk and tried to shut down the set, someone in Kirk’s crew attacked Pagar.
Though Kirk allegedly ordered the crew member to stop, Pagar says that Kirk then punched him in the face, knocking out a tooth. Pagar filed a lawsuit against the rapper in February, which states that he suffered serious injuries from the attack. The lawsuit also states that another member of Kirk’s team, Thankgod Awute, is being charged with felony robbery.
The music video shoot in question appears to have been for “Play U Lay,” a single by DaBaby’s artist Stunna4Vegas. It inexplicably includes a cameo from embattled YouTuber Jake Paul.
This battery charge is just the latest in a recent string of blunders for Kirk: Earlier this week, Rolling Stone obtained new security footage of a 2018 incident where Kirk shot and killed a man named Jaylin Craig at a Charlotte-area Walmart. From the clip, Kirk appears to have initiated the fight that led to the shooting, contradicting his original self-defense claim.
And earlier this month, Kirk was involved in a bowling alley brawl with his ex-girlfriend’s brother, as well as another shooting incident at his home in North Carolina. Last year, he stirred up more controversy after lashing out at gay people in a hateful speech at Rolling Loud Miami. Though he issued an apology to GLAAD and HIV/AIDS non-profits, he appeared to ghost those organizations after early discussions faded out.