Black Travelers: Explore Culture, Adventure & Connection
Prominent academic and activist Marc Lamont Hill recently offered a candid, granular account of a distressing 2024 incident in which an alleged stalker assaulted him onstage.ย
Speaking on the June 12 episode ofย The Joe Budden Podcast, Hillย confirmedย he was โpepper-sprayedโ during the Q&A segment of a speaking engagement held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Philadelphia, directly across from his independent bookstore, Uncle Bobbieโs Coffee & Books.
โI was mad as shit,โ Hill recounted to his co-hosts, who exhibited amusement at the bizarre narrative. Pressed on whether he pursued legal action or pressed charges against the alleged perpetratorโactions that could ostensibly conflict with his long-held public stances on the criminal justice systemโHill was unequivocal. โSued? N***a, please. You can hear me on the tape say, โDo not call the police,โโ he asserted. โI walk it like I talk it. She was mentally ill. She had been stalking me for a couple of weeks, and I didnโt know. I never met her before.โ
Hillโs co-hosts continued to suggest the incident stemmed from a soured extramarital affair facetiously.
โNone of this is true. She was crazy as f*ck,โ Hill countered, meticulously detailing the womanโs behavior. โI was standing there, giving a speech. She stands up for a Q&A. She had written a letter to me, saying that she was trying to talk to me about how the CIA and Joe Biden were trying to frame her for murder.โ Hill further revealed that the woman had previously defaced his bookstore with red spray paint and had intended to hurl a brick through its window before police intervention.
According to authorities, he claimed, they merely issued the woman a ticket and released her.
He recollected the moments preceding the attack with chilling clarity, initially dismissing the woman until she approached the microphone and uttered her name. โIt started clicking who she was,โ he described. โIโm looking at security. She was like, โI just want to talk about what happened to me.โ And I was like, โI just want to be clear that Iโve never met you before.โ [She said], โYou donโt know me, Marc? You donโt know me, Marc?โ She starts coming toward me. I said, โI need you to stop walkingโ โฆ Iโm sitting in the chair โฆ Iโm thinking sheโs reaching for a gun. Iโm thinking, โIf sheโs about to shoot me, this is a really terrible way to die.โโ
Before he could react, she deployed the spray.
โShe got me in the eye,โ Hill recalled.
Joe Budden TV found and posted the video footage of the 2024 attack online, depicting the woman approaching Hill, extracting a can of pepper spray from her pocket, and deploying it.ย
The 46-year-old activist andย journalistย promptly recoiled behind the stage curtains, as a man leaped in to intervene to restrain the assailant. Hill returned to the stage moments later, informing the audience of the womanโs prior vandalism at his bookstore and explicitly stating, โWeโre not gonna call the cops.โ
Marc Lamont Hill mentioned on the Joe Budden podcast that he was pepper sprayed once while speaking. Welp JBTV found the files! ๐๐
(Notice how he tells them not to call the police proving MLH ainโt just talk )๐ฅ pic.twitter.com/FH0ID1f0vzโ After Hours X JBTV (@JBTVSpaces) June 11, 2025
Hill later elucidated the situation via a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, reassuring his followers of his well-being. He affirmed that he has since engaged in a restorative process with the woman and her family to facilitate her recovery.ย
โThe video of me being pepper-sprayed was from January 2024,โ he wrote. โAt the time, the attacker believed that I was part of a conspiracy (along with the CIA, Mumia Abu Jamal, and the president) to cover up traumatic events from her childhood. Since then, after refusing to press charges, I have worked with her family and community members to enable a restorative process.โย
He elaborated on her circumstances: โThrough the process, I have learned that she did indeed suffer significant childhood abuse, as well as serious mental health challenges that continue to this day. Instead of criminal prosecution, I have done my best to make sure that she receives social and mental health support to help her heal as best as possible.โย
Iโm fine, everyone. The video of me being pepper sprayed was from January 2024. At the time, the attacker believed that I was part of a conspiracy (along with the CIA, Mumia Abu Jamal, and the president) to cover-up traumatic events from her childhood. Since then, after refusingโฆ
โ Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) June 12, 2025
MLH is definitely the man for this.
RELATED CONTENT: K. Michelleโs Expertly Clears Delusional Journo During Interview, Affirming Her Rightful Place In Country Music
See the full story on the original site
