Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Footage of Jon Jones’ accuser shows her hesitating to press charges because of his status as a famous athlete.
Just when you think Jon Jones has finally gotten his s**t together, another scandal emerges. The most recent scandal? Accusations from a strip club waitress that Jon Jones slapped her vagina, put her in a chokehold, pulled her onto his lap, and kissed her on the neck.
This supposedly went down in April at a local Albuquerque ‘gentleman’s club’ but only surfaced in July shortly after Jones’ title defense against Thiago Santos. And because nothing ever goes the easy way for Jones outside the cage, an arrest warrant ended up being issued for him because he never received the court summons.
Jones and his lawyers managed to clear that up without too many problems and it doesn’t seem like the accusations are going to affect his status as UFC light heavyweight champion or stop him from fighting again once more in 2019. “Bones” has declared his innocence online and claims to have video footage that vindicates him. Dana White has seen it and describes it as ‘good for Jon Jones.’
We don’t have that footage but we do have something new from local Albuquerque station KRQE : police bodycam footage of them taking a statement from the victim.
”Do you feel like they’re trying to protect him due to him being a celebrity type?” an officer asks a woman whose face has been blurred.
Police Video: Hear from the woman accusing Jon ‘Bones’ Jones of battery https://t.co/OEuDB6soc6 #abq #albuquerque
— KRQE News 13 (@krqe) August 18, 2019
”I mean everyone’s protecting Jon Jones because he’s a celebrity,” she responded.
A person at the strip club who snapped pics of Jones with his brother Chandler told TMZ he saw them ‘interacting with the women all night’ but never witnessed anything resembling violence.
It’s unclear what evidence the victim has to substantiate her accusations, but it’s worth noting a metro court judge did determine there was enough probable cause to support the charges against Jones and move forward with a court date. That is expected to take place sometime in September.