The Georgia waitress going viral for body slamming a patron who grabbed her butt is opening up about her experience. Emelia Holden, 21, said that when she felt someone touch her, she assumed it was one of her friends because of how aggressive it was.
“When I felt that happen, my first thought was that it was one of my friends … it was a really intimate touch,” she told People. “His hand went further than it should have so I was thinking, ‘There’s no way a stranger just did that.’”
As soon as she realized it was someone she didn’t know, her reaction was instant.
“I looked at him and I said, ‘You don’t touch me, motherf*cker!’ ” Holden said. “I didn’t even think, I just reacted. I don’t know how I reacted the way I did. I’ve never done that before.”
Holden slammed him to the ground, which you can see in the video, and she said that afterward other customers gave her high-fives. She asked a coworker to call the police, and the customer, 31-year-old Ryan Cherwinski, was arrested.
“The guy claimed that he was just trying to push me out of the way and, ‘Oh, I barely touched you.’ Once the police saw the video, they immediately arrested him. There was no doubt that he did it,” Holden said.
A Savannah Police Department spokesperson confirmed to People that Cherwinski was arrested and charged with sexual battery.
Since the incident was posted on YouTube, it’s amassed over 100,000 views, and Holden said she’s received messages from random women on Facebook thanking her for doing what she did.
“I’m not glad that it happened, but I’m glad that it’s had such a positive outcome,” she said. “I’m glad that other women can see this and know that you can stand up for yourself. You also have the right to wear whatever you want without having to worry about being groped.”
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