Video footage of Chris Young’s alleged assault of a Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission agent obtained by Nick Beres from Nashville’s NewsChannel 5 has been shared on social media.
The new footage seems to counter the assault allegation levelled at Young, with the video showing the singer – wearing a black leather jacket, cap and jeans – standing in line at the Dawg House bar when he reached out to an agent, who subsequently shoved Young to the floor.
Young then got up, put his hands above his head and moved away from the agents.
The footage appears to contradict the arrest affidavit issued earlier this week, which detailed how Young allegedly put his hand out and attempted to stop the agent from moving, “stuck” one in the shoulder and reportedly started screaming.
On Monday (22 January), Young was arrested on charges of “disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assaulting an officer”, The Tennessean reported. The singer has since been released from custody.
In a statement, Young’s attorney, Bill Ramsey, told Billboard following the viewing of the evidence: “What happened to my client Chris Young at a bar in Nashville on Monday night was wrong, and he never should have been arrested and charged in the first place.
“In light of the video evidence, Tennessee ABC needs to drop the charges and apologise for the physical, emotional and professional harm done towards my client.”
Chris Young is due to land in Australia in March to headline CMC Rocks in Queensland (alongside Lainey Wilson and Tyler Hubbard) and play two solo shows in Melbourne (Naarm) and Sydney (Eora) with special guest Bryan Martin.
Young last toured in Australia in 2015. Since then, he’s released three more albums – the festive It Must Be Christmas in 2016, Losing Sleep in 2017, and Famous Friends in 2021.
In addition to his touring plans, Young recently revealed plans to release his new album, Young Love & Saturday Nights, teasing it as his “largest album to date”. The album will be released on Friday, 22 March – a week after his CMC and solo dates.
You can pre-save Young Love & Saturday Nights here.
Countrytown brings you Australia’s best country music news, interviews, charts and more every week! This post was authored by Countrytown and originally published on the Countrytown website. It has been re-published with permission.
