'Disruptive,' 'inappropriate,' 'unacceptable': College calls out graduate who went viral for ripping mic from staff member's hand



A New York City community college has called out a graduate who was caught on a now-viral video ripping a microphone from a staff member's hand during commencement ceremonies last week.

What are the details?

LaGuardia Community College in Queens told the New York Post that it's investigating the dust-up involving Kadia Iman, who engaged in a short but intense wrestling match for the microphone with an older female staff member.

The 22-second video originally appeared on Iman's TikTok page last week and amassed over 3 million likes and 24 million views — but her TikTok page has since gone private.

As the below reposted video shows, Iman gains control of the microphone and then makes a short speech to the stunned crowd: "You didn't let me get my moment ... and I'm graduating today! I don't like how you snatched the mic out of my hand, so today it's gonna be all about me!" She then slams the microphone to the ground and walks away.

— (@)

What else did the college have to say?

Manny Romero, chief spokesman for LaGuardia Community College, told the Post in an email Monday that Iman “demonstrated their frustration during the student procession for not being able to hold the microphone while they announced their name."

Romero added, “As a process for keeping the ceremony running in an orderly manner, students are given the opportunity to say their name while a volunteer holds the microphone. None of the students are allowed to hold the microphone to avoid any delay of the student procession and the ceremony," the paper said.

Romero called out Iman's “disruptive and inappropriate behavior” that hampered the “celebration for graduates and guests," the Post said.

“Her mistreatment of a staff volunteer was unacceptable," Romero added, according to the paper. "We are currently reviewing the incident to gain a better understanding of what occurred and what we might do in the future to prevent something like this from happening again."

'I’m a black woman in America I am always in the right'

After Iman's video went viral, she reportedly delivered a message to her detractors on Instagram, which has since gone private as well: “To everyone saying I should be embarrassed or I’ll never get a job … I’m a black woman in America I am always in the right … u will not gaslight me into thinking I’m the bad guy I did it for girls that look like me ...” the Post reported.

The same screenshot of Iman's apparent Instagram message the Post provided in its story has appeared on social media:

— (@)

Anything else?

Iman also posted a separate video offering her perspective on the mic-snatching incident. Here's what she said:

I was walking on, and we had to announce our names, to say our name before we got on the stage, so I was saying my name, and she literally — my name is long, obviously, I have like, three syllables in my name, I'm not gonna say exactly my name right now ... so I didn't even finish getting to say my name, and then the people that went before me and everything, they all got to say their name, their major, and even extras. And me and the other girl noticed that she was pulling the mic down super fast for some black people. ... I just couldn't let that happen, 'cuz I just feel like I worked so hard to graduate and went through so much s**t to graduate that I just felt like I had to reclaim my moment. I'm sorry, like, I'm not a problematic person, I don't wanna ruin no one's day, I don't wanna violate anybody, but that's what she did. She didn't even let me finish speaking; she [pulled] the mic down, cut me off, and that was the only time I was able to speak. So, I just feel like that wasn't right.

The Post added that its efforts to reach Iman have been unsuccessful.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Graduate who ripped mic from hand of apparent school official reportedly answers critics with defiance: 'I’m a black woman in America I am always in the right'



A graduate who was caught on a now-viral video ripping a microphone from the hand of an apparent school official and telling the stunned crowd that "today it's gonna be all about me!" has reportedly replied to critics with defiance.

What's the background?

The 22-second clip from TikTok user @kadiaimantv depicts a large gathering on a grassy area at an unnamed campus with graduates dressed in black caps and gowns as a crowd looks on.

The clip begins with the female graduate engaged in a short but intense wrestling match for the microphone with what appears to be an older female school official who's also dressed in a cap and gown.

Now in control of the microphone, the graduate makes a short speech to the apparent school official she tussled with — and to the crowd: "You didn't let me get my moment ... and I'm graduating today! I don't like how you snatched the mic out of my hand, so today it's gonna be all about me!" She then slams the microphone to the ground and walks away.

Here's the clip of the altercation; it has received 3.2 million likes and 24 million views since it was posted Wednesday:

The New York Post reported that Iman has since delivered a message to her detractors on Instagram: “To everyone saying I should be embarrassed or I’ll never get a job … I’m a black woman in America I am always in the right … u will not gaslight me into thinking I’m the bad guy I did it for girls that look like me ...”

While the post didn't appear on her Instagram page Friday afternoon, the same screenshot the Post provided has appeared on social media:

— (@)

Other posts that remained on Iman's Instagram page Friday contain the same pink background and white text; others are equally as defiant:

Image source: Instagram video screenshot via @kadiaiman

The Post added that the mic-snatching incident took place during LaGuardia Community College’s graduation ceremony, which was held Wednesday. The Post said the ceremony was held on the campus of Queens College in New York City.

The paper added that a LaGuardia spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Friday — and that efforts to reach Iman have been unsuccessful.

Anything else?

Iman posted a separate video offering her perspective on the mic-snatching incident:

I was walking on, and we had to announce our names, to say our name before we got on the stage, so I was saying my name, and she literally — my name is long, obviously, I have like, three syllables in my name, I'm not gonna say exactly my name right now ... so I didn't even finish getting to say my name, and then the people that went before me and everything, they all got to say their name, their major, and even extras. And me and the other girl noticed that she was pulling the mic down super fast for some black people. ... I just couldn't let that happen, 'cuz I just feel like I worked so hard to graduate and went through so much s**t to graduate that I just felt like I had to reclaim my moment. I'm sorry, like, I'm not a problematic person, I don't wanna ruin no one's day, I don't wanna violate anybody, but that's what she did. She didn't even let me finish speaking; she [pulled] the mic down, cut me off, and that was the only time I was able to speak. So, I just feel like that wasn't right.

Content warning: language:

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Graduate wrestles mic from apparent school official, declares to stunned crowd, 'You didn't let me get my moment ... today it's gonna be all about me!'



A viral TikTok video shows a female graduate wrestling a microphone from what appears to be an older female school official — and then declaring to the stunned crowd, "You didn't let me get my moment ... today it's gonna be all about me!"

What are the details?

The 22-second clip from TikTok user @kadiaimantv depicts a large gathering on a grassy area at an unnamed campus with graduates dressed in black caps and gowns as a crowd looks on.

The clip begins with the female graduate engaged in a short but intense wrestling match for the microphone with what appears to be an older female school official who's also dressed in a cap and gown.

Image source: TikTok video screenshot via @kadiaimantv

Image source: TikTok video screenshot via @kadiaimantv

The graduate soon gains control of the microphone. A security guard just feet away didn't intervene:

Image source: TikTok video screenshot via @kadiaimantv

Then the graduate makes a short speech to the apparent school official she tussled with and to the crowd.

Image source: TikTok video screenshot via @kadiaimantv

"You didn't let me get my moment ... and I'm graduating today! I don't like how you snatched the mic out of my hand, so today it's gonna be all about me!" She then slams the microphone to the ground and walks away.

Here's the clip of the altercation; it has received 1.5 million likes since it was posted Wednesday:

@kadiaimantv @tiktok you are racist stop removing mt video i am a black woman speaking from being silences … why take my video down ( full story on my page )
♬ original sound - kadiaimantv

What else?

The TikTok user in question — @kadiaimantv — posted a separate video offering her perspective on the incident. She does not mention the name of the school or her own name, but she does reference the academic term "major," which would seem to indicate the incident occurred at a college. The caps and gowns worn by non-students in the primary video also appear to indicate the incident occurred at a college:

I was walking on, and we had to announce our names, to say our name before we got on the stage, so I was saying my name, and she literally — my name is long, obviously, I have like, three syllables in my name, I'm not gonna say exactly my name right now ... so I didn't even finish getting to say my name, and then the people that went before me and everything, they all got to say their name, their major, and even extras. And me and the other girl noticed that she was pulling the mic down super fast for some black people. ... I just couldn't let that happen, 'cuz I just feel like I worked so hard to graduate and went through so much s**t to graduate that I just felt like I had to reclaim my moment. I'm sorry, like, I'm not a problematic person, I don't wanna ruin no one's day, I don't wanna violate anybody, but that's what she did. She didn't even let me finish speaking; she [pulled] the mic down, cut me off, and that was the only time I was able to speak. So, I just feel like that wasn't right.

Content warning: language:

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!