Man Hassles Mike Tyson On An Airplane, Gets Punched Repeatedly, Memes Follow

Professional boxer Mike Tyson is making the rounds online today after reportedly punching a fellow passenger on a Jet Blue flight out of San Francisco several times. A viral video of the incident showed the passenger, purportedly inebriated, continually hassling and talking to Tyson, who is sitting in the seat in front of him until Tyson turns around and begins hitting him in the head.

The footage appears to have been filmed by a friend of the man who hassled Tyson. The person filming comments throughout, and the video is cut several times — potentially indicating that the man had been attempting to start a conversation with Tyson for a long while.

In the video, the man also imitates Tyson, drinks and then talks about offering shrooms to the boxer. Near the end, Tyson turns around and punches him repeatedly as another passenger attempts to de-escalate the situation and pull Tyson away.

Online today, defenders of Tyson pointed out the annoying behavior displayed by the man in the video, arguing that he deserved the beating that he received.

Others questioned the wisdom of annoying Mike Tyson on an airplane to begin with, arguing that the man’s supposed stupidity and disregard for personal safety make what happened to him inevitable.

Memers online riffed on the reactions and characters in the video, celebrating Tyson’s personality and strength alongside the jokes.

Others on social media platforms like Twitter memed the injuries received by the man in the video, spawning a slew of reaction memes as the story went viral this morning.

A strain of discourse cropped up around the video and its coverage in the media, with many objecting to the framing of headlines and stories about the incident. They argued that the press painted Tyson as the "aggressor," when in fact he was "defending himself."

May these memes stand as a warning: The next time you see a highly celebrated and notoriously brutal boxer in a public space, maybe don't antagonize them.