Gym Class Heroes front man Travis McCoy was released from police custody Wednesday (July 2nd) in St. Louis after being charged with one charge of third-degree assault.
According to eye-witnesses, McCoy had just finished the first song of their Warped Tour set when an audience member near the front row called the lead singer a “fucking ignorant nigger.”
After a brief scuffle and commotion, McCoy reportedly reached down and hit the heckler on the head repeatedly with his microphone.
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McCoy apologized for his violent reaction claiming it wasn’t representative of him as a person. “I’m sorry. But when someone calls you something that ignorant and that offensive, you have to bash their head in with a microphone,” said McCoy.
In response to his arrest, a publicist for McCoy sent popular gossip blogger Perez Hilton the following statement:
“Somebody in the crowd was taunting Travis with racial slurs. Travis invited him onstage with the intent of calling him out in front of the crowd, with absolutely no intention of a physical altercation. When he tried to help him onstage, the guy hit Travis in the knee area (which has been in a brace because of a recent sprain), forcing Travis to defend himself. At this point, a scuffle broke out.
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This whole incident is unfortunate. Travis McCoy and Gym Class Heroes are anything but violent. Their message is about racial unity and having a good time. It’s amazing that in 2008 there are still people out there that would say such ignorant things.
Travis is deeply upset that this happened, and has expressed his apologies to the band’s fans that were at the show, Kevin Lyman, and the Vans Warped Tour. GCH is putting this behind them and looks forward to seeing everyone on the rest of the tour.”
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McCoy was released early Wednesday morning on $500 bond.
