Georgia soul singer Sky Whatley has been charged with simple battery for allegedly slapping a woman onstage, a strike caught on video that left her with two black eyes.
Shamika Boyd was at the Legendary Awards Show & Concert inside Londzell Performing Arts Theatre in Tucker, Georgia, on Sept. 6 to support her daughter, who was DJing. Sky Whatley was performing when he allegedly struck her from the stage in an incident captured on video.
Police later charged the Georgia musician with simple battery and issued a warrant. They have not arrested him. Boyd’s attorney says authorities plan to let Whatley turn himself in.
New York Post reporting detailed the charge, the warrant status, and Boyd’s account of an unprovoked blow that left her injured and searching for answers.
Whatley is a soul singer with roughly 3,500 monthly listeners on Spotify. The onstage strike turned a local awards show into a criminal case and a fight over whether police moved fast enough once the video spread.
Boyd told reporters she had done nothing to provoke the singer. She described shock and confusion in the moment the blow landed.
Boyd said:
“When he hit me, I was devastated because I’m thinking, ‘Why did he hit me? He had no reason to hit me.'”
She added that she posed no threat.
Boyd said:
“That’s the part that I don’t understand when I did nothing to him,” “He was in no harm, no threat or anything.”
Boyd also said Whatley followed the strike with a crude gesture and a taunt.
Boyd said:
“After he flipped me off, he was like, ‘Eff you B, this is for the real men.'”
She reported two black eyes. Composite material on a tooth popped out. She went to police after the show. For weeks, she said, little happened.
A warrant for Whatley went out earlier this week. Officers still have not taken him into custody. Boyd’s attorney, Shannin Render, said that approach fails basic policing when a warrant already exists, especially on a case that drew public attention.
Render said:
“They’re just not doing their job,” “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.”
Render said Boyd is exploring legal action. The goal is compensation for medical treatment and potential lost income after the alleged assault.
Render said:
“It’s not appropriate for you to enter a venue for you to be assaulted and then have to carry the burden of your medical expenses, transportation fees, and the recovery process of not being able to work or things of that nature,” “So, that’s where we come in to establish who was accountable and hold them accountable.”
No public statement from Whatley appears in the available accounts. The simple battery charge stands. The warrant stands. The arrest has not.
Boyd went out to back her daughter’s set and left with injuries, medical bills, and a case that moved only after video forced the issue. Police issued paper. They have not used it.
A performer who strikes a woman from the stage should meet handcuffs on the state’s timeline, not his own.
