POISON’s RIKKI ROCKETT Sides With MIKE TYSON For Allegedly Punching ‘Aggressive’ Plane Passenger

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POISON drummer Rikki Rockett has come out in support of Mike Tyson after the former heavyweight boxer was reportedly filmed punching a man in the face on a plane. In the video, which went viral on Thursday (April 21), a fellow first-class passenger is seen "provoking" Tyson from the seat behind him aboard a Florida-bound flight, with Tyson eventually losing his cool and repeatedly pummeling the passenger, resulting in the passenger sustaining cuts to his head. Although some people on the Internet drew comparisons between Tyson and Will Smith slapping Chris Rock onstage at the 2022 Oscars, most of the reactions seem to be in support of the boxer, who was on the Wednesday night JetBlue flight from San Francisco to Miami to appear at a weed conference after-party. One musician who said that he was taking Tyson's side is Rockett, tweeting on Thursday: "While I don't condone violence, I think our society has enabled people to mouth off, harrass and get away with it thinking they can just make money off of a lawsuit if it turns physical. I stand with #miketyson". BODY COUNT frontman Ice-T was in apparent agreement with Rockett, writing: "Mike Tyson punched somebody who was Fn with him……. The problem is nowadays, MFs think they WON'T get punched in the Face…" Also weighing in was KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, who shared a TMZ article about YouTube star-turned-boxer Jake Paul's assessment that "if you’re being heckled in public like Mike Tyson was you should legally get a hall pass to beat someone’s ass." Simmons added a simple one-word comment: "Agreed!" On Thursday, representatives for Tyson confirmed the incident, writing in a statement: "Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat." Prior to the confrontation, the apparent harasser is seen on the standing over Tyson's seat, waving his arms and talking animatedly while the former boxer sits quietly. San Francisco police responded about 10 p.m. to a "physical altercation" on a plane at the airport's domestic terminal, officials said. "Officers arrived and detained two subjects that were believed to be involved in the incident. One subject was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. That subject provided minimal details of the incident and refused to cooperate further with the police investigation," police said in a statement.