Rapper insists Macy's staffer used N-word before brother attacked him after store says it was 'unprovoked'
FLINT TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN: A Michigan rapper who went viral after he filmed his brother brutally beating a white Macy's employee has insisted that he heard the n-word after the department store said the attack was "unprovoked".
FT Quay and his brother, who has not been identified, are being investigated by the police after the former posted the video of the attack on his Facebook page with the hashtag #blackpower.
You can watch the video here.
In the video, which was shot at a Macy's in Genesee Valley Center in Flint Township, Michigan, Quay's brother can be seen punching the employee in the face without warning. The employee immediately asks, "What are you doing that for?" but is not given any respite.
He tries to extend his arm to protect himself but is punched again, with Quay's brother yelling at him for touching him. The employee then tells him, "I didn't touch you... I'm sorry" and is punched a few more times before the clip abruptly ends.
Quay explained that his brother attacked the employee after a brief conversation where they asked the employee if a shirt they were looking at was too small in size. The rapper said the employee said yes and then continued talking on the phone, where he told someone that he was interrupted by "no one, just some n*****".
"This s*** gotta stop tho," he wrote. "This was not planned people take things in a different way and in these times today that was just asking for problems [sic]."
While the moment the employee allegedly uttered the n-word was not caught on camera, Quay insisted to the New York Post that he had heard the man use the slur and that his brother's reaction was a "spur of the moment."
"I just want people to know the real story of really what happened and what’s in the description of me and my brother just walking into Macy’s just minding our own business," the 22-year-old explained. "And, yes, we made a petty joke and asked the guy was the shirt too little when he could’ve asked me. He was just being funny. And just the fact of the remark that he said that we all heard. And just, what else were we supposed to do? In this age and time, he didn’t know what else to do. That was just his instinct."
In a statement to MLive, Macy's had claimed that the attack was "unprovoked" and that they were now in the process of helping the authorities identify the men behind the incident.
"We are deeply saddened about the incident that took place on Monday (June 15) at Macy's Genesee Valley as the safety of Macy's customers and colleagues is our top priority," said Andrea Schwartz, the senior director of media relations for the department store company.
"Violence in the workplace of any kind is unacceptable. All the materials from the evening have been reviewed and it is clear that the attack was unprovoked," she continued. "We are working closely with local authorities on this investigation, and will defer any further comments about the case to them per policy."
Lt. Brad Wangler, with the Flint Township police, confirmed they are looking for Quay and his brother and that they are investigating the incident but that they had not yet taken anyone into custody.
Quay, however, has continued to stick by his story. "I’m behind my brother fully, because with everything else going on, what else can we do at this point?" he said. "All the hate and everything is not needed because nothing works. It was spur of the moment. That was his instinct."