The He Said/She Said Story Behind the McGraw Mayhem
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Photo credit: Kathi Ruvalcaba
See the video-CLICK HERE
A US99 Exclusive
By now, everyone knows Tim McGraw’s version of what
went down at his concert Tuesday night (6/24) in
Auburn, Washington. He saw something that didn’t seem
right, and tried to stop it. Himself. The grainy
internet video shot by a fan clearly shows, well,
nothing. You can only see the incident from one
perspective. But there are, in this case, three sides
to the story. So we thought it would be good to get
the other stories. Specifically, those of the man who
was pulled onstage and the woman he allegedly
harassed.
He Said
Marcus Nirschl, 30, of Kent, Washington said he was
just making his way up to his seat for his favorite
song, “Indian Outlaw,” when the trouble started. He
had paid $120 for his 3rd row seat, and he just wanted
to get there. “I was getting shoved up against some
empty seats, and I may have pushed some people when I
was trying to get my balance. But I didn't grab
nobody's hair, and I didn't hit nobody. I'm the nicest
guy you'll ever meet,” Nirschl said. After his cowboy
hat fell off in the kerfuffle, he bent down to grab
it. “Next thing I knew, Tim was saying ‘Get rid of
this guy,’” he recalled. “"But when he reached out for
my hand, I thought he recognized me, because I've been
to about six of his shows. I really thought he wanted
to pull me onstage for some dancing and stuff." So
Nirschl stood on a chair to join McGraw, but then
McGraw grabbed the back of his belt and hoisted him
up. When Nirschl got his bearings, McGraw’s fist was
back and cocked. So the security guards threw Nirschl
in a headlock and removed him from the stage, and
ultimately the arena. He maintains he was not drunk,
and that he is just very confused how it all happened.
She Said
Tonia Hohagen, 41, from Federal Way, Washington had
been to about six or seven of McGraw’s shows, too.
“Every time he’s here, I’m there,” she said. Her seat
was in the 7th row, but she said the arena had opened
up the area in front of the stage. Hohagen and her
sister went up to the front to get closer to McGraw.
“We were standing there watching ‘Indian Outlaw,’ and
all of the sudden I got shoved from behind and my head
hit my sister in the head,” she recalled. “I look
behind to see this guy. The aggression he showed was
so outrageous, and you could smell alcohol.” Hohagen
said the man rammed into her again on his way to the
stage, and started pulling her sister’s hair. “She was
screaming, so I was trying to get him to let go. Then
he pushed me, I pushed him back, and he fell into the
empty seats,” she said. After that, Hohagen said the
man punched her in the leg, which is when McGraw
called for security. And he looked very angry,
according to Hohagen. “Tim is a man of integrity and
honor,” she said. “If it weren’t for him, I could’ve
been hurt much, much worse.” One of McGraw’s managers
called Hohagen on Thursday to check on her and
apologize for all the chaos.
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