‘If the Roles Were Reversed’: ‘Power’ Star Michael Rainey Jr. Breaks Silence After Being Groped By Woman During Twitch Livestream
“Power” star Michael Rainey Jr. is speaking out against sexual assault after millions of social media users witnessed him being groped during a livestream.
The actor appeared on Twitch personality TyTy James’ June 9 stream with several others when the incident occurred. While James was speaking with three young girls, Rainey stood in the background alongside two other men.
At one point, James’ sister, Jahgee, suddenly appeared beside the 23-year-old actor, whispered something in his ear, and appeared to grab his crotch. The “Power Book II: Ghost” star seemed visibly uncomfortable as he moved to thwart her advances by reaching his hands down as he shielded his genitals from the unsolicited touching.
In his June 10 Instagram Story, Rainey wrote, “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.”
He continued, “The fact is, sexual assault is never okay, regardless of gender of status. We’re all human, and we should respect each other. Most importably, we should always respect ourselves.”
I’ve never even heard of this streamer but his response (being offended by Michael Rainey Jr leaving, and then making excuses for his freaked out ass sister) is alarming and dangerous as hell. Men don’t actually care about the sexual assault and mental health of men. https://t.co/wUHwJzEbKy
— Maax. (@maaxwaetothe) June 10, 2024
James remained focused on the three younger girls throughout the interaction. However, within seconds of the groping, Rainey’s friend appeared on camera, and they shared banter, presumably about what had just taken place.
At that point, James asked, “What happened?” Rainey’s friend responded, “We’ll tell you later, bro. We can’t tell you on stream.” The young star reportedly left 20 minutes later to James’ displeasure.
The steamer was bombarded with messages about the indecent encounter afterwards and addressed the issue during a later stream. “My little sister was completely wrong and out of line. What she did was very inappropriate and unacceptable. I am truly embarrassed and disgusted by her actions,” he said.
His later remarks included him stating that he did not feel as though he needed to be more cognizant of the company he keeps during his live shows. He had a renewed perspective when he issued his official statement on the matter.
In a tweet, James wrote, in part, “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. I do not condone any type of assault.”
Across social media, show a condense of outrage. “The way males being sexually assaulted goes so unnoticed, this girl was inappropriately touching on actor Michael Rainey Jr & making him so uncomfortable. Like this is so weird,” shared an X user.
The way males being sexually assaulted goes so unnoticed, this girl was inappropriately touching on actor Michael Rainey Jr & making him so uncomfortable. Like this is so weird
pic.twitter.com/TlPTKBJnSl
— NATE (@NATERERUN) June 10, 2024
“Your sister sexually assaulted someone and kids were in the room. She needs to be charged and you cancelled,” read a comment left under James’ most recent Instagram post dated May 4. Another tweet stated, “Now imagine , she doing this with a room full of other people and kids while being recorded and live streamed!”
While Rainey has not publicly expressed plans to pursue charges, it is evident that many who observed the violation believed Jaghee should face a consequence other than being banned from her brother’s livestream.