Michael Rainey Jr. Releases Statement on Sexual Assault

Michael Rainey Jr., star of the hit series Power Book II: Ghost, has released a statement regarding a sexual assault incident involving him and a young woman on a Twitch livestream. Rainey joined popular streamer, TyTy James, earlier this week and a series of viral video clips from the disturbing moments are now floating around the internet.

In one clip, a young woman, James’ little sister, enters the frame from the left to stand beside Rainey, who has his arms crossed in front of him, partially covering his private parts. The woman can be seen whispering something to Rainey, however, viewers can’t hear what’s said. A child sitting in front of them blocks the audience’s view, but Rainey seems to be trying to ignore her as she gropes him. The actor leaves the livestream shortly after.

Rainey released a statement on his Instagram story saying:

“At this point, everyone has seen the video circulating online. I am still in shock and don’t know how to fully process what happened last night. This is an unfortunate situation that I can’t condone in any way. I can’t take it lightly because I know I would be in serious trouble if the roles were reversed.” 

Rainey goes on to say that, “… sexual assault is never okay, regardless of gender or status. We’re all human, and we should respect each other. Most importantly, we should always respect ourselves.”

James also released a statement saying that he’s disgusted by what happened during the livestream and supports Rainey in whatever direction he chooses to take from here.

“After the actions that occurred during my stream last night I would like to sincerely apologize to Michael and his family for what took place. My little sister was completely wrong and out of line. What she did was very inappropriate and unacceptable … After watching the clip, I was completely taken back by what she done. I will take extreme precautions with future streams to avoid similar issues and have banned her from participating in future streams. I do not condone any type of assault.”

Rainey has not revealed whether he take legal action against the woman.