Sky Whatley charged with simple battery over onstage slap

Southern soul singer Sky Whatley has been charged with simple battery over a slap delivered from the stage at a concert in Tucker, Georgia, on Sept. 6, his accuser's attorneys say, and police had not arrested him nearly a month later.

I've done this for about 10 years now, and when there's an active warrant, you get picked up. Especially with something of such notoriety. Unfortunately, Ms. Boyd let me know that they're deciding not to go forward and they're going to let him turn himself in.

Shamika Boyd, the woman Whatley is accused of striking, reported the incident to police after the show, and a warrant was issued only in the week of Sept. 28, her attorneys told 11Alive. Her attorneys said in September that they were preparing to take the matter to civil court. The slap was captured on cellphone video that circulated widely online in the weeks afterward.

What Boyd told police

According to a DeKalb County police report, Boyd told officers that Whatley called her to the stage and acted as though he was going to give her a high five. She said he then reached back and slapped her.

The slap left both of her eyes black and chipped a tooth that had recently received a composite fixture.

Boyd has said Whatley then made an obscene gesture and directed profanity at her before calling for the music to be restarted and finishing his set. She had initially believed, she told 11Alive, that he was reaching down to interact with her or to pull her onto the stage.

That's the part that I don't understand when I did nothing to him. He was in no harm, no threat or anything.

WSB-TV said it asked Whatley for a response through social media and the email address listed on his Linktree page and did not hear back.

The show, billed as the Legendary Awards Show & Concert, took place on Sunday, Sept. 6 at the Londzell Performing Arts Theatre in Tucker, outside Atlanta. Boyd was there to watch her daughter, Jada Boyd, who was performing a DJ set that night. Jada Boyd said she was not performing when her mother was struck, did not witness what happened and learned about it afterward.

What the video shows

The first clip reached the internet on Sept. 10, when The NC Beat published it alongside a Facebook post Boyd wrote and later deleted, according to Baller Alert. It circulated for days. Attention returned in mid-September when a second, longer piece of footage surfaced and Boyd sat for an on-camera interview with 11Alive, nearly two weeks after the concert.

That second clip picks up earlier in the set, Baller Alert reported. It shows Boyd dancing near the front of the stage while Whatley performs "Waffle House at 2AM," and, during "Auntie Love," putting one leg up on the stage and continuing to dance as she records him on her phone.

Someone who appears to be affiliated with the venue or the performer waves a towel at her, tells her to get down and tries to move her back, and she stays where she is. Moments later Whatley reaches down and hits her.

The shorter clip that circulated first appears to show Boyd approaching the stage with her hand out before Whatley slaps her across the face, Rough Draft Atlanta reported. Neither clip establishes what happened immediately before or after the contact. Boyd has said she was not threatening the performer.

Boyd's deleted Facebook post described a problem that began before the set, according to Baller Alert. She wrote that Whatley was rude before he took the stage, that the two exchanged words and that he made a vulgar comment about her daughter, after which she no longer wanted Jada spinning his set. None of that exchange appears in the footage that has been made public.

Boyd was removed from the venue after the altercation while Whatley was allowed to continue performing, her attorneys told WSB-TV. They have said they are examining the venue's response as part of their case, including whether other parties could be held responsible. Londzell Performing Arts Theatre did not respond to a request for a statement from Rough Draft Atlanta.

A separate civil claim

Boyd hired The Render Law Firm after the concert, and its lawyers said in September that they intended to take the case to civil court. Atiya Vereen, one of Boyd's attorneys, told WSB-TV that what the video shows could not have been accidental.

For you to bend down and slap her, that's not an accident

Render told 11Alive the case could seek compensation for expenses tied to the incident, including medical treatment and transportation, as well as income Boyd may lose while recovering from the injuries to her eyes and tooth.

An arrest warrant

Whatley was charged with simple battery for the strike, which was captured on video, and a warrant was issued in the week of Sept. 28, Boyd's attorneys told 11Alive. He has not been taken into custody. Boyd's attorney said authorities had decided to let him turn himself in rather than pick him up.

Nearly a month passed between the concert and the charge, and no court date for Whatley has been made public.

What is known about Whatley

Baller Alert described Whatley as a Georgia-based independent artist working in Southern soul and blues, with songs including "Auntie Love" and "Waffle House at 2AM," and as a performer with real momentum before the video spread.

He has made no public statement about the slap or the charge. His Instagram account is now private and his Facebook account appears to have been deactivated. Boyd and her attorney say they have not been able to reach him either.

No lawsuit has been filed. Render has said someone assaulted at a venue should not be left carrying the medical bills and lost work that follow, and that her firm's role is to establish who was accountable and hold them accountable. Boyd's lawyers have not named the parties they intend to sue.

Render told WSB-TV that patrons of a venue accept certain risks when they walk in, and that being slapped is not one of them.

As of Oct. 2 the warrant remained outstanding and Whatley had not been arrested. The police report and the civil claim are separate tracks, and only one of them has moved since the concert four weeks ago.

Jada Boyd told 11Alive she did not realize her mother had been struck until afterward, that she wanted her to receive justice, and that she would not want anyone else's mother to go through the same thing while supporting her child. The embarrassment has been the hardest part for her mother, she told WSB-TV, and her mother is ready to put the night behind her.