Radio Host Anthony Cumia Assaulted, Now Under Media Attack
The twitter feed of radio host Anthony Cumia, of SiriusXM’s Opie and Anthony Show has the internet’s full attention today.
According to Cumia’s twitter feed, late Tuesday night he was walking through Times Square taking pictures of the lights and the people, when a woman who was in one of his photographs became enraged that her picture had been taken, and physically assaulted him. Anthony’s twitter account of the incident has been picked up by various media outlets; almost all of them critical of Cumia’s twitter posts giving very little attention to the attack itself.
Through his twitter account, Cumia said that a woman punched him in the face, after realizing he had taken a picture of her. He responded by shouting something at her, (referred to on his twitter as “&$;;-:”) after which the unidentified woman struck him multiple times, drawing a crowd. According to the twitter feed, more arguing ensued, with Anthony blocking hits and yelling, while the woman continued to strike Cumia in the face and head. Although Anthony, who is a vocal second amendment advocate was legally carrying a weapon, he never attempted to use it, and never retaliated physically.
Anthony later described the incident on Twitter, using terms that have sparked criticism in publications like USA Today, Gawker, The Washington Post, The Hollywood Reporter and at least a dozen more, who are calling the radio host racist for his use of words like “savage” and “animal.”
Cumia is not apologizing for his characterizations, or taking down the tweets that led to the media reports. You can read the entire feed on twitter @anthonycumia.
Incidentally, as far as we know, it is perfectly legal to take photographs of strangers in public places.
Silly me. I’m not as offended by words as by getting assaulted. Hence not caring her 1st words were “white motherfucker” before the punches.
— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 3, 2014
We are living in a strange backward world. Where people support the attacker & the victim is the villain. Enjoy! — Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 3, 2014
Some of the other photos Anthony Cumia took on Tuesday night. You can find the photo of the woman who assaulted him on his twitter feed @AnthonyCumia.
Or maybe a pic of the city with no one in it. pic.twitter.com/Zes6rQ6gR9
— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 2, 2014
This gentleman had no issues. Well, with me anyway. pic.twitter.com/vN434QDbpt — Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 2, 2014
Now, this girl seemed nice enough. pic.twitter.com/foKe7PtV3B
— Anthony Cumia (@AnthonyCumia) July 2, 2014
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