A battery case against DaBaby in Las Vegas has been dismissed, according to online court records.
The case was dismissed with prejudice — meaning it can’t be brought again — on Dec. 1. The charge stemmed from a Nov. 2020 incident during which DaBaby (real name Jonathan Kirk) allegedly hit a Las Vegas driver during a ride. Along with the dismissal of the charges, Kirk was ordered to pay $7,500 in restitution to his accuser, Timothy Cobb.
Lawyers for Kirk, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, said in a statement, “Mr. Kirk denied the allegations and came to court prepared to fight the case at trial. In court, the case was dismissed with prejudice.”
Kirk has faced several legal issues in the past, most notably a 2018 incident where he fatally shot a 19-year-old man in a North Carolina Walmart. Kirk claimed he was acting in self-defense, and he was ultimately not charged in the man’s death; he was, however, found guilty of a misdemeanor weapons charge.
In 2020, Kirk was arrested and questioned over an alleged robbery in Miami after an altercation with promoters at a venue where he was set to perform. The promoters had reportedly promised Kirk $30,000 for the appearance, but he was allegedly only given $20,000; a verbal and physical altercation erupted over the discrepancy with Kirk allegedly punching one of the promoters. Kirk was charged with battery in the incident, though those charges were eventually dropped.
The dismissal of the Las Vegas battery case comes at the end of a tumultuous 2021 for Kirk. The rapper faced intense scrutiny this summer after making misogynistic, homophobic, and ill-informed comments about AIDS victims at Rolling Loud Miami. While DaBaby lost a handful of major festival slots in the backlash, he maintained plenty of support and recently kicked off a North American tour with the support of Rolling Loud. In November, Kirk was involved in a live-streamed fracas with DaniLeigh, the singer and mother of his child (charges were filed against DaniLeigh, but none against Kirk).
From Rolling Stone US
