'Wild Thing' rapper Tone Loc is detained at a Texas airport after confronting white teen wearing a Confederate-flag hat
- Tone Loc, whose real name is Anthony Terrell Smith, got into a heated argument with a family at Midland International Air & Space Port Saturday
- Part of the foul-mouthed exchange was videotaped by a bystander
- Smith, 53, reportedly took issue with a white teen wearing the Rebel flag on his hat and told him, 'How are you going to wear that in front of a black man?'
- Teen's parents told Smith their son can wear whatever he wants 'because it's f***ing America'
- Smith declared, ‘F*** all that Confederate s***,' at which point he was handcuffed by two police officers
- Police let the 'Funky Cold Medina' rapper go after both parties decided not to file any charges
Rapper Tone Loc was briefly detained by police at a Texas airport on Saturday after getting into a foul-mouthed confrontation with a teenager wearing a hat decorated with the Confederate flag.
A portion of the heated interaction between the Los Angeles rapper, whose real name is Anthony Terrell Smith, and the boy's parents was captured on video by a bystander at the Midland International Air & Space Port.
According to a witness account, the 53-year-old musician and producer, best known for his 1989 hits 'Wild Thing' and 'Funky Cold Medina,' spotted the teen with the Rebel flag hat at baggage claim and rebuked him for wearing the divisive symbol.
Wild thing: Rapper Tone Loc, 53, got into a heated exchange with a family (left and right) at a Texas airport Saturday after spotting a teen wearing a hat with the Confederate flag
'It's f***ing America': The boy's mother (pictured) said told the rapper, whose real name is Anthony Terrell Smith, that his son can wear whatever he wants because 'it's f***ing America'
Hitmaker: Tone Loc performs onstage during KEarth's Totally 80's Show at Honda Center on January 26, 2018 in Anaheim, California
'How are you going to wear that in front of a black man?' Smith, who is African-American, reportedly told the teen, who is white.
The boy's parents came to their son's defense and told Smith that he had no right to speak to their son like that, pointing out that he is a minor, KOSA reported.
Smith apologized but continued insisting that the teen should not be wearing the Confederate flag.
The dispute quickly turned into an expletive-filled shouting match, which was recording by a bystander.
‘You ain't nobody!' the mother could be heard angrily shouting at Smith in the cellphone recording.
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Two police officers approached and detained him
The argument later spilled out onto the sidewalk outside the airport, where the boy's father was heard telling the rapper that his son can wear 'whatever the f*** he wants.'
The mother chimed in, telling Smith, 'You know why he can wear it? Because it's f***ing America! Freedom of speech! Freedom of religion!’
Unimpressed by the woman's argument, Smith declared, ‘F*** all that Confederate s***.’
At that point a pair of uniformed Midland police officers approached the feuding parties and handcuffed Smith, drawing a strong-worded response from him.
Smith is best known for his 1989 hits 'Wild Thing' and 'Funky Cold Medina' (pictured right with Paula Abdul)
The Grammy Award-nominated artist was let go a short time later after both he and the teenager's family decided to part ways without filing any charges, according to the station KMID.
Saturday was not Smith’s first run-in with the law: the ‘80s' hitmaker was arrested on a domestic violence charge in Southern California back in 2011.
He later pleaded no contest and was sentenced to one day in county jail, three years of probation, community service and anger management counseling.
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