Porsha Williamsis experiencing a sense of vindication after body-camera footage released by the Atlanta Police Department appeared to confirm she was the victim in a confrontation with another passenger described as a “Karen” aboard a Delta Air Lines flight on Nov. 16.
The newly released footage captures the travel dispute between Williams and a white female passenger, revealing how multiple travelers immediately defended the Real Housewives of Atlanta star, according to PEOPLE.
As previously reported, Williams, 44, wasescorted off a Delta flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday, after she was “verbally assaulted by an irate and unhinged passenger without provocation,” according to the star’s lawyer, Joe Habachy.
On Wednesday, Nov. 19, police released separate body-cam videos of Williams, several passengers, and the white accuser describing the altercation, according to footage obtained by ET.
Porsha Williams said the Delta dispute occurred after the white passenger called her a “b-tch.”
In the lengthy recording, Williams recounted her side of the story, explaining that the woman first told her to stop listening to an Instagram video aloud before calling her a “b-tch.”
“From that point on, she said, ‘Who the f— do you think you are?’” Williams said.
Williams told police she asked for the woman to be moved, while the woman simultaneously attempted to film, dropped her phone in the process, and then falsely claimed:
“‘You just hit me in my face. Oh my God. I’m pressing charges. I want you to be in jail.’” Williams, acknowledging she was “upset,” admitted she responded by telling the woman, “‘Get your ugly ass out of here,’” but she made it clear that she did not touch the passenger.
Flight attendants then relocated the woman from her first-class aisle seat. “She was irate, so they were trying to hold her,” Williams said.
Passengers also defended Williams, insisting she did not start the argument.
Before Williams even began her official statement to Atlanta police, two passengers approached her to check in, both insisting she had not been the aggressor. One witness asked, “Are you okay?” and, after confirming she had been sitting nearby, told Williams:
“I was there. What I heard was reprehensible. The woman got in your face and gave you the middle finger, and was doing things that were completely chaotic to you. I’m sorry. I’m embarrassed. I’m so sorry. That’s why I’m asking if you’re okay. I wouldn’t be okay.”
As Williams collected the witness’s information, another passenger stepped forward, saying he, too, had seen everything from two rows behind.
“She did not touch that lady,” he stated.
He told the officer that, while the plane was still boarding, there had been no physical altercation.
“Basically, there was no physical altercation. There was a verbal commentary kind of thing that was at a normal level. And then out of nowhere, it escalated in the sense that the lady to the right of her got really animated and started screaming,” he said. “The only physical thing [Williams] did was point at her. And it was for some reason that just escalated to this point, where all [Williams] was saying was, ‘Don’t talk to me like that.’”
The white woman accused Porsha Williams of “beating” her.
Meanwhile, the woman accusing Williams of assault also gave her version on camera. She claimed the flight was taking off at the same time, Williams allegedly “beat” her, saying, “That’s why the flight attendants couldn’t help me from her beating, because they had to be buckled in.”
She stated she asked Williams to turn off her phone after “25 minutes,” and alleged Williams held her “fingernail so close to [the woman’s] eye” that she thought she was “going to be physically attacked.” She further claimed that Williams knocked her phone out of her hand.
She ended her statement by telling police:
“Here’s what I’m afraid of. I’m afraid she’s going to have me killed.”
A spokesperson for the Atlanta FBI told TMZ on Nov. 18 that investigators are determining whether federal charges apply in the case involving The Real Housewives of Atlanta star and the passenger.
Williams’ attorney, Joe Habachy, said she remains confident the truth will prevail.
“Ms. Williams was verbally assaulted by an irate and unhinged passenger without provocation. The passenger then proceeded to make false allegations that were in direct conflict with observations from several eyewitnesses,” he said. The legal aid added, “As with any incident occurring aboard an aircraft, federal authorities are required to conduct an investigation involving all parties to determine what, if any, offenses occurred. Ms. Williams has every intention of cooperating with law enforcement to whatever extent necessary, and remains confident that the passenger will be charged.”
