Tim McGraw Speaks Out After Slapping Female Fan, Says Incident Was 'Unfortunate' (VIDEO)
Tim McGraw broke his silence on Monday, more than one week after he was captured on video slapping a female fan.
In a recent statement, the country music star, 47, described the incident as "unfortunate" but insisted that the public should "move on" from it.
"Sometimes things can lose context and perspective. I reacted in an instinctive, defensive way from my perspective of what was going on. I think it was an unfortunate situation," McGraw told ET Canada. "But it happened, it happened in a split second, it was pure instinctive reaction, I think you just got to move on."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
McGraw was performing his hit song "Truck Yeah" at Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood on July 13 when a woman in the audience slapped his knee before reaching for his groin area.
The married singer reacted by slapping the unidentified woman across the face, much to the surprise of fellow concert goers.
"It is one of those things that happen, nobody feels good about it, but there's nothing that could be done about it," he said. "You are in that position, you are out there, you are vulnerable, things happen and sometimes you react. There's nothing to be said about it."
In video footage obtained by TMZ, an irritated McGraw slaps the woman and then stands with his hands on his hips as he watches security escort her out of the venue.
Fans took to social networking site Twitter after video footage of the incident went viral. While some expressed support for Mcgraw, others did not.
"[Tim] deserves his personal space. Just because he's an entertainer doesn't mean it's ok to touch his body. That's assault!" one fan tweeted.
"Wow. I get the hand swat for the jeans grab but slapping the women on her face...how many times you slap #FaithHill?" one seemingly unimpressed fan wrote.
McGraw is the husband of famed country pop singer Faith Hill, 46, and the couple shares three children.
The singer is currently gearing up for the September release of his latest album Sundown Heaven Town.
