By now you have all seen the viral video of the “Twisted Tea” incident in which the tea is a white man got shit twisted and then got his cap twisted after twisting his mouth to say the n-word to a Black man several times. Now, that Black man has spoken publicly to fill us in on what happened before a bystander started recording the incident that made Smacklemore (I’m pretty sure the white guy has a real name, but damn if I’m going to learn it) famous for all the wrong reasons.
He’s been dubbed “Mr. TeaKO” by the internet but his real name is Barry Allen, which explains why he was as quick as The Flash in delivering cans and hands to the n-word-spewing white guy after he’d had enough. (My DC Comics fans will get that reference, the rest of you just need to use your Googles.)
“As soon as I walk in, he’s standing with his friends, I was assuming, and calling the employees, two black guys, niggers,” Allen told Mark One Sports of his encounter at a Circle K store in Elyria, Ohio. “I’m like, all right. Let’s just hope he leaves by the time I get up there. So, I ignored it.”
Unfortunately, the fake Slim Shady was still standing up with the word in his mouth when Allen got to the counter.
“And he’s still there, still saying the word like he was just a normal black guy having fun with all his buddies, just chilling,” he recalled. “And you could tell by their faces they wasn’t really feeling it, but they can’t say nothing ’cause that’ll put their job on the line.”
“Me, I didn’t feel that way,” Allen continued. “I’m like, ‘C’mon bro, stop saying the word. Why you shouting out ‘nigger,’ bro? He’s like, ‘Man, I say “nigger” whenever I want. Leave me alone’ and pretty much went back into his conversation. I’m like, ‘C’mon, stop saying the fucking word. You’re really pissing me off now.’”
As I said in my previous report, before Mike Tea-son (sorry, I couldn’t help myself) smacked white Nate Robinson with the can of Twisted Tea, he was showing remarkable patience in a situation where a lot of Black people wouldn’t have. But that patience went out the window along with Smack Miller’s dignity once Paul Fall said “nigga” one too many times.
“That’s when I pick [the tea can] up and he goes to kick it,” Allen said. “He really didn’t kick me but I felt the kick coming. So I just reacted at that point.”
Allen, who is a father of five, said he called his wife—who has since created a Twitter page with the handle “Mrs TeaKO OFFICIAL”—right after the incident.
“I called my wife soon as I got in the car,” he said. “By the time I got in the car and started moving and backed out and got on the road, I’m telling my wife, ‘I hit a guy in the face with a can.’ She’s like, ‘I know. I’m watching it.’ The lady had 5,000 views by the time I drove two blocks home.”
So, I guess the moral of the story is: Life comes at you fast, cans come at you faster and racism goes viral faster than...well...The Flash.
(Updated 3/3/22 with new details)