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Matisyahu Apologizes for Kicking Woman in the Face

Celebrity Cafe

Matisyahu sings at the ‘Festival of Light’ in Brooklyn.

Matisyahu apologized for attacking a female photographer at a concert Wednesday. During his ‘Festival of Light’ Hanukkah performance in Brooklyn, photographer Rebecca Smyne was allegedly kicked in the face by the star as he tried to kick her camera out of her hand because he found the flash distracting.

She later tweeted that she was pressing charges.

He later tweeted messages to Smyne. These included telling her to be more sensitive to performers when using her flash. She countered by saying that there were no restrictions placed on photographers at the performance. Smyne also accused Matisyahu of being a misogynist.

Matisyahu, 32, later apologized to Smyne.

“I regret what transpired when I tried to remove the camera from the photographer’s hands last night,” he said. “As an artist on stage, it is very distracting and disorienting to have a camera flashing in your face for an extended period of time. I reacted impulsively out of frustration and for that I apologize.”

Born Matthew Paul Miller, Matisyahu made headlines earlier this month when he shaved off his trademark beard. Some viewed this as his attempt to divorce himself from Judaism, but he later said those claims were untrue.

Before that, he claimed that he grew his beard to explore his Jewish spirituality.

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72 Comments

  • nebech

    this is a real tragedy, not the beard going.

    I guess its best the beard is gone if this is the new matisyahu …

  • Not surprised

    couldn’t he have just asked her to stop? Who kicks someone a lady? Does he think that much of himself/ He is not the only one who ever encountered a flash in their face.

  • very

    ignorance….someone who wears a beard has manners while one who doesnt acts as an ingrate LOL get real ppl

  • do i care?!?!??!

    hey hey, why does this not make headlines??
    “Matisyahu Bites a Piece of Challa”
    and
    “Matisyahu Goes To sleep at Night”?????
    this guy looks like he cant help being in the headlines, for some very uninspirational motives

  • check his tefillin

    i think he should check his tefillin! obviously something is wrong spiritually when his behavior is so strange lately. Someone should suggest that he check his tefillin (maybe also mezuzot) and also check his kashrus perhaps….

  • The Theory

    Sounds like he rationalized that being reasonable did not apply to him in that situation.

  • Uh Oh

    I really hope those 13 middos harachamim didn’t leave him when he shaved off his beard now that she’s taking him to court

  • Matis! Can-t you see???

    Hey Matis! MAYBE the Kabbalists are right?
    It seems, that with your beard, you have lost your charisma and patience as well.

    If you come back you will be the light of tshuva for many. And may Hashem shine his special 13 midos of protection & blessings, once again.

  • LOL

    What’s wrong with that? As he said, he was just trying to “remove” the camera from her hand.

  • Jew Just Arrested

    I was mind controlled to get arrested this week. It looks like Matisyahu and I are both Jews, neighbors and in the same sinking boat.

  • Crown heights comments

    A fellow Crownheightser:

    When ever i read the the comments on crowheights.info i always think to myself, its probably the same 20 people (excluding all others) that are commenting on the posts.
    Aside from the fact that its simply pointless to comment negatively with an anonymous name title, i find it hard to understand why a community like crown heights, which however you look at it has many undeniable misfortunate issues accuring,
    Do you read what you write before you post?
    Do you think of what you will accomplish after reading what you write?
    Have you ever thought of what your negative comments will look like to others that read it?
    And last and most importantly,
    Why do you feel the need to express yourself by Bashing, ridiculing, and insulting someone on the internet?

    WHY?

  • CHT

    Menchkait measurement goes like this:
    Mench does not mean a tzadik. Mench can get frustrated and do mistakes. Only, mench would act exactly the same regardless if in front of him is weak lady or heavyweight boxer.

  • B O B

    Mr. Miller, you need therapy, go see a shrink and get out of show business while you still have a brain left. Guys like you go to the “graceland” wasteland.

  • Down and out

    stop writing about this idiot on this site. he is on the way down. he is confused and out of control.
    to 1: he never had aidelkeit and mentchlechkeit
    to 11: don’t waste your time

  • henoch

    The giant menorah strobe light wasn’t distracting at all, just this lady’s camera flash… I think you kicked her because she was taking pictures of your face. Just being honest.

  • Sick of Misyovon

    I once inadvertently pointed my friend’s flash at the Rebbe at dollars because he just had to have his pic taken, the camera had a fixed flash, and there was no room for me to take a good pic.

    Someone was trying to tell me that the flash was pointed right at the Rebbe, but I misunderstood. Then, someone else just explained to me that the flash was too close to the Rebbe. I was next on line and of course the Rebbe, who probably did not notice, said nothing.

    This menuval isn’t worth licking the shoes of the Rebbe whose teachings he defiled for so many years with his sick act.

    When his name ends up on a police blotter for heroin related offenses, I won’t be surprised or shocked. I might not remember who Matthew Paul Miller is, though. I certainly won’t care.

  • the meaning of chanukah!

    wow..they say when times are good people are good..but when times are tough that is how you measure the true nature of a person! when matisyahu looked a certain way and at the top you were all praising his name, and then one small incident and you are the first to slander his name. What is the true meaning of ahavat yisrael o’ people of israel? how does g-d measure a man? it is CHANUKAH! LET’S BRING LIGHT AND COMPASSION FOR ALL JEWS NO MATTER HOW NEAR OR FAR!

  • anon

    this guy was always messed up… i dont see why people are having a hard time understanding. he was and is very flaky.

  • A True Matis Friend

    Wow, I guess if it is in print it MUST be true. I mean, no such thing as biased reporting or anything like that…While it is so nice to read how everyone assumes this is what happened, why don’t you take a look at the photographer’s twitter page (warning, it is x rated). Yeah, lovely lady. Funny how those who were standing alongside her report something VERY different. Matis never kicked her, though he did try to move her camera as she was ruining the performance with her non stop flash in his eyes. For those of you who question his personality, you should be so lucky to meet someone as sincere, real, passionate and honest as Matis is. And if you want to see real kevana, just watch him daven. I am honored to be his friend and assure you there is plenty you could all learn from him, starting with how he doesn’t judge others…

  • Eye witness

    I was there. The photographer was obnoxious. She kept smashing everyone with her camera. Glad he kicked her.

  • he-s in my prayers

    Matisyahu has a good soul. I just hope he has a salvation b’gashmius and b’ruchnius.

  • AA

    #22’s comment (“Crown Heights Comments”) should be frontpaged on this site and before the comments on every article!

  • Matisyahu - good guy - confused

    Matisyahu is personally a real mentsch and a very sweet person. Just because he is still not settled in his ruchnius and about his beard – does NOT mean he is not sincere and a real mentsch. See comment #34 – what really happened.

    Only problem is taking off the beard – a person looses the 13 attributes of rachamim (mercy) which are related to the 13 points on the face. It’s not good to loose that… I suppose.

  • dont be stupid

    don’t take pics with flash in his face and he’s still frum just without a beard

  • Mordy

    if nobody else wants to press charges against him for this crime, then I will do it. I am calling my local precinct now to file an assault report

  • yeracmiel

    matisyahu is not acting like a human being. Kicking a woman in the face ? That is so disgusting.

    I hope matisyahu is reading these comments and does some soul searching to correct his bad behavior.

  • CR

    “I regret what transpired when I tried to remove the camera from the photographer’s hands last night,”

    This is the sort of non-apology we expect from powerful, famous people with big egos. Basically he is saying that the whole incident was caused by that b—-h flashing a f—–g camera in my face!

    Forget about Matty, already. This incident, coupled with the recent on-air food fight paint a very ugly picture. He is just another rich and famous celebrity whose life is swinging violently out of control and anyone trying to intervene at this point is putting themselves at potential physical risk.

  • Crazy world

    1) Matisyahu shouldn’t have done it. he should have asked politely. but the lady is obviously not good either. And all those people who say matisyahu has a good soul, maybe. but hes hiding it pretty well. get off the drugs and grow a beard, and you’ll be way happier Matisyahu. oh and i feel so bad for his family… especially his wife.

  • Mordy

    i cant believe so many of you losers are supporting matisyahu for punching a woman in the face….

  • miriam

    Thank You #22 for saying the absolute truth!

    Are there any editors on this site or is anything that anyone posts allowed to be submitted without being reviewed?

    Every article that is posted just becomes a cesspool of lashon hara and negativity.

    People! Stop! Think about what you are saying before you write it!

    Just because it is anonymous doesnt mean that you can just spout off whatever pops into your head.

    People from all over the world, religious and non religious, come here to see how you represent Lubavitch.

    Do you really want them to see your comments?

  • Chaya Mushka

    You guys are unbelievable! you dont need a beard to be a mench and what happened to judging people favorably? It is shocking that on this cite crownheights.info i see that people have the nerve to slander on ones fellow jew… What are you trying to say? since he doesnt have a beard, he isn’t religous anymore? Well, what really matters is whats in the inside… while all of you are going around with your black hats and beards, and long skirts and sheitels; your language is slanderous… We learn about lashon hara in the Tora … mitsva dehorayta! All I wanna say is, why dont you take a look inside yourselves before judging another fellow Jew. Only then can we hope for the Moshiach… as of right now I can see you are deffinately not ready!

  • Jewish lyrics to goyishe music STINKS!

    It’s not me saying this, but the Rebbe, – okay, in a
    much more eidler manner – when he was asked about
    using popular music (e.g rock, jazz, etc.) with Jewish
    sounding lyrics. He was against it because the melody
    itself conveys a feeling of “freeing” oneself from responsibility, and doing whatever your hear desires;
    contrary to the Torah way of life.

    This is based on an excerpt form Likutei Sichos. I can look
    up the source and report its location later.

  • Daloy LH Einsatzgruppen!

    And, as if right on cue, the “Stop Judging – LH” Matty fanclub police show up trying to shut down the discussion. There is nothing to judge here. This man’s public behaviors impeach him all by themselves. You are permitted and even required to warn the public about someone who is a potential danger. This applies to spiritual danger (Megaleh Panim LaTorah Shelo KeHalachah) and even moreso to a physical one. Here we have someone who has committed multiple acts of assault on other people in public with the cameras running aside from his spiritual deriliction. And he has to Bushah about either! Oh, and spare me commentary about the uplifting content of his lyrics; I could say the exact same thing about plenty of other lyricists out there (with gaggles of starry-eyed cult-worshipping fans as well) whose personal behaviors are also unworthy of emulation.

    This man is a real danger to everyone around him. Whatever may be “inside” is breaking out now and it is quite ugly indeed. We should be doing everything possible to keep people away!

  • Genug shoyn

    And if you want to see real kevana, just watch him daven

    I have seen Matthew Paul Miller “daven.” His feat of davening Maariv in over 20 minutes is not a tribute to his tzidkus. It’s a tribute to the scrambled eggs state of his brain…as in this is your brain, this is your brain on drugs.

    Thanks to his abuse of substances that have damaged his brain, he reads the words in the siddur the way I tried to read German once when I was stuck flying Lufthitler and Anschluss Airlines – one word at a time, trying to figure out what he’s saying.

    If I had blown my brain out on drugs when I was a teenager, I would also have such “kevana.” Either that or I’d be living on the levana!

    Stop making this jerk into a hero. We now know who he is and who he always was.

  • another commenter from the rhineland

    to comments # 53 and 54-

    brilliant Comments !
    to comment #51

    do you think matisyahu judged the female photographer favorably?

  • Chaya Mushka

    #55
    I cant believe you would even ask a question like that?
    #53 was saying that the reason for the slanderous gossip was because you have to warn people about him. So what? you think that because of the possibility that Matisyahu mite have not judged this women favorably, it is now okay for you to do the same thing.. well if thats the case, you just slooped down to his level if not lower. And dont believe everything you hear on the news or you see tweeted about.. half the time they are false or partially false.
    #54 You are a sick Jew to judge someone for the way they daven. Even though he is most of the time on drugs, at least he makes Maariv a priority. At least he still has a kesher with Hashem even if its in hallucinations.

  • Genug shoyn! (to 57)

    57, that is how they judge people favorably in Chelm. (That is assuming you are not pulling my leg, because what you wrote is so far off as to be humorous.) Miller just happened to be in the shul where I used to daven when we had some event so he put on his Maariv show for everyone. It wasn’t the first time I saw through him, but one glance at his davening showed he hardly knew or cared what he was trying to read.

    Everything about Matthew Paul Miller, including his unauthentic and unfitting shem beYisroel (it’s really Hirschel Feivel or a similar combination of Yiddish nicknames) is a show.

    As your name is Chaya Mushka, I can assume you are young and do not yet have much experience dealing with the fakery of the olam hasheker of which the entertainment world is the open sewer in the jungle camp. However, people much older and more experienced than I assume you are also fell for his act, either out of naivete or because they thought he would help bring Jews back to Yiddishkeit.

    He may have had a fleeting effect that is the equivalent of a low dose of umm..aspirin, among a few students. However, his association with Yiddishkeit is a net negative, and he is doing more damage to Torah than even the hooligans in Ramat Beit Shemesh and Mea Shearim are doing.

    He is a dishonest, abusive long-term drug addict. No different from many in the show-business world, and only a step up from the vilde chayes who hang out in drug dens past Utica Ave.

  • yeracmiel

    did you see matisyahu’s chanukka video where he dresses as santa klaus , an image of avoidah zorah !

    shame on matisyahu

  • Well it is. Too bad!

    Uh, obviously the Balabus here disagrees with you. If you do not care for it don’t read it!

  • shliach

    as a a shliach who was disgusted by the humiliating articles “wowo matisyahu is a lubavitcher” that did nothing for yiddishketi or lubavitch. I am even more ashamed of these comments bashing matisyahu now.
    he joined lubavitch for a while after becoming a baal teshuva through lubavitch.
    like some people he decided to leave after a while, i think he lost by that but he is free to make that choice and it makes no sense to be angry at him.
    now he has shaved his beard, so if he gets into trouble we can bad mouth him? if he takes drugs or not, i don’t know. does it need to be broadcasted round the world?
    he should not have been made to be a role model in the first place but there is no reason to bash him now.

  • Chaim L.

    according the the sheilos and tshuvos of reb betzalel the holy meconium, it is not permissible to listen to goyishe styles of music because it is avodah zarah

  • non-Lubavitcher reading this

    What amazing me most about these posts is not who Matisyahu is or is not, but the amount of negative judgement, hostility and anger that is in so many people who write these posts. I know that Lubavitch tells everyone that it has so much love for all Jews, but how in the world do you reconcile with what people from that community are given the space to anonymously are really thinking and feeling? It appears that the love for everyone is just a shell …. under it is very clearly this idea that if you are not like us there is something very wrong with you. The “love” is just a technique to catch people, but there is no real love. This is not the only thread of posts like this from Lubavitchers.

  • Once a Lubavicher

    #67… i couldnt agree more.
    Lubavichers are not the example of love for everyone. As far as I am concerned it was the Rebbe who showed his love to everyone. The Lubavichers are supposed to be his followers but a lot of them havent been following closely behind. I am not at the least surprised that someone would want to leave Chabad after seeing inside their shells.
    So maybe Matisyahu screwed up his life a bit, but who are we to Judge him,? And please dont BS me about avoiding people to fall into his trap, because ant child who reads these comments will learn even more how to disobey Hashems commandments.
    So yea, Matisyahu left Lubavich which is understandable after he saw what was under this shell.

  • another non-Lubavitcher

    This is really fascinating. As far as I know, Lubavitchers are the only group in the Orthodox world that has no respect in their hearts for different pathways. They have one way of speaking when they are doing outreach, but here you see what they really think behind the scenes. I heard that the people who do outreach have a book that teaches them how to behave and speak to people they do outreach to. They are so nice to you and you think they really respect you, but they don’t. Not at all. These comments are proof.

  • MC

    “As far as I know, Lubavitchers are the only group in the Orthodox world that has no respect in their hearts for different pathways.”

    I don’t think this is true. Pay attention to what is currently going on in Beit Shemesh. Intolerance is a widespread disease, but it becomes a mitzvah amongst segments of Chareidi Judaism, including Lubavitch.

  • You-re doing the same thing!

    To the last few commentors – please do not pass judgement on the entire Libavitch world because of some anonymous comments on a blog.

  • Once a Lubavicher

    #71.. if the comments were the only things that proved to me the outreach of chabad and what chabad was all about i would have thought that its a bunch of hackers commenting… Whenever I looked for outreach from chabad they turned their backs on me..

    #70 whats going on in Meah Shearim and Bet Shemesh I cant even c0onsider Jewish so they are out of the conversation from my perspective…