Power star Michael Rainey Jr. said he is ‘still in shock’ after he was groped on TyTy James’ Twitch livestream on Sunday.
Rainey Jr., 23, was grabbed inappropriately by James’ sister, Jahgee, during the stream, with the video later circulating on Twitter.
Michael took to his Instagram Stories on Monday to share a statement about the incident, writing, ‘sexual assault is never okay’ and adding that he is still ‘processing’ what happened.
Meanwhile, Power’s co-creator and executive producer 50 Cent — who recently attended the Book II: Ghost season 4 premiere with Rainey Jr. — downplayed the incident on social media and said no charges are being pressed.
The rapper wrote in a comment, ‘Wait sexual assault (frown emoji) from a male perspective this was an aggressive advance. LOL. He’s fine no charges are being pressed.’
Power star Michael Rainey Jr. said he is ‘still in shock’ after he was groped on TyTy James’ Twitch livestream on Sunday; Seen on June 6 in NYC
Rainey Jr., 23, was grabbed inappropriately by James’ sister, Jahgee, during the stream, with the video later circulating on Twitter
Michael’s full statement read, ‘At this point, everyone has seen the video circulating online. I am still in shock and don’t fully know how to process what happened last night.’
‘This is an unfortunate situation that I do not condone in any way. I can’t take it lightly because I know I would be in serious trouble if the roles were reversed.’
‘The fact is, sexual assault is never okay, regardless of gender or status. We’re all human, and we should respect each other. Most importantly, we should always respect ourselves.’
The actor also shared a statement with People, where he stated: ‘Sexual harassment and assault are serious and unacceptable acts. Taking advantage of someone’s celebrity in this manner devalues entertainers and underscores the need to respect their humanity. Those who entertain us are human beings just like everyone else.’
In the clip of the incident, James’ sister’s hands are blocked by three children standing in front of her, but Rainey Jr. looks visibly uncomfortable as she reaches down, and he attempts to block her hand.
TyTy James — a streamer on the platform Twitch who hosts his own channel, Tylilshow — eventually ended up kicking out his sister from the room after she made a suggestive remark about a banana.
James later shared that Michael left after about 20 minutes.
James also released a statement on his Instagram, in which he apologized to Michael and said his sister was ‘out of line.’
‘After the actions that occurred during my stream last night I would like to sincerely apologize to Michael and his family for what took place,’ he wrote, adding, ‘My little sister was completely wrong and out of line. What she did was very inappropriate and unacceptable.’
In the clip, James’ sister’s hands are blocked by three children standing in front of her, but Rainey Jr. looks visibly uncomfortable as she reaches down and he attempts to block her hand
Michael took to his Instagram Stories on Monday to share a statement about the incident, writing, ‘sexual assault is never okay’ and that he is still ‘processing’ what happened
Meanwhile Power’s co-creator and executive producer 50 Cent downplayed the incident on social media and said no charges are being pressed; The two seen on June 6 in NYC
The rapper wrote in a comment, ‘Wait sexual assault (frown emoji) from a male perspective this was an aggressive advance. LOL. He’s fine no charges are being pressed’
TyTy James (pictured) — a streamer on the platform Twitch who hosts his own channel, Tylilshow — also released a statement on his Instagram, in which he apologized to Michael
‘My little sister was completely wrong and out of line. What she did was very inappropriate and unacceptable,’ he wrote, adding, ‘I completely respect whatever direction Michael wants to go in this situation’
‘I am truly embarrassed and disgusted by her actions. I completely respect whatever direction Michael wants to go in this situation.’
‘After watching the clip, I was completely taken back by what she done. I will take extreme precautions with future streams to avoid similar issues and have banned her from participating in future streams.’
He finished his statement writing, ‘I do not condone any type of of assault.’
Rainey Jr. plays Tariq St. Patrick on both the original series Power and its sequel Power Book II: Ghost. Tariq is the son of the show’s main character James ‘Ghost’ St. Patrick, played by Omari Hardwick.
The actor was most recently pictured at the Power Book II: Ghost season 4 premiere and 10-year anniversary in New York City, with 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige.
50 Cent was both an executive producer and starred as Kanan Stark in the original Power series, which ran for six seasons from 2014 until 2020.
The show became a hit, and garnered critical acclaim as well as multiple awards, such as Outstanding Drama Series at the 50th NAACP Image Awards.
The premise followed, Ghost (Hardwick), a wealthy New York nightclub owner who has it all; dreaming big, catering to the city’s elite, and living a double life as a drug kingpin,’ per an IMDB synopsis.
Rainey Jr. plays Tariq St. Patrick on both the original series Power and its sequel Power Book II: Ghost. Tariq is the son of the show’s main character, James ‘Ghost’ St. Patrick; Michael pictured with 50 Cent in a still
Power Book II: Ghost, which first aired in 2020, is a sequel to the original series that focuses on Tariq (Rainey Jr.)
Power Book III: Raising Kanan, which aired its first season in 2021, is a prequel to the entire Power series. It dives into the early life of Kanan.
Power Book IV: Force, which aired in 2022, is a spin-off that centers around Tommy Egan, Ghost’s best friend, who tries to rebuild his life in Chicago after the events of Power.
In March it was announced that the Power franchise is currently developing a fourth spinoff series which is slated to be a prequel to the show’s characters of Ghost and Tommy – originally played by Hardwick and Joseph Sikora.
