Bethenny Frankel Speaks Out About Being Hit in the Face Amid Alarming Trend

Tatiana Tenreyro
·2-min read

After numerous women have said that they were punched in the face in recent, seemingly random attacks in New York, Bethenny Frankel has shared she’s among the victims of this alarming trend.

The Real Housewives of New York alum first shared her experience in a comment left on a TikTok made by a Parsons fashion design student, who was hit while walking home from class. Frankel wrote, “This is insane bc this happened to me a few months ago but I was embarrassed to say. I was on the UWS [Upper West Side]. Insane. I was taking video of a bakery.”

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After her comment drew attention, Frankel made a TikTok of her own Thursday, detailing her experience.

“I was in New York City looking for an apartment and I stopped at this cute little deli-bakery tiny place,” she explained. “I walked in and I was shooting the baked goods and as I turned around — I mean, the place was the size of a bathroom — I turned around to walk out the door, and this guy punched me. Hit me is more [accurate], it wasn’t like a closed-fist, just hit me in the face.”

She continued, “I was completely stunned. I walked outside and my driver, who is also security, I looked at him and gestured over to this man, this homeless man, to explain to him that I’d just been hit. But I didn’t want to provoke this guy even more. [My driver] went over and started confronting the guy and I was like, ‘Let’s get the hell out of here.'”

Frankel then texted the broker for the property and told him she didn’t want to see any apartments in New York City anymore because “this city’s insane.”

She noted, “I attributed this to the crime that was happening during the pandemic. Little did I know that this would become this trend of people being hit and even when I commented in that post, I didn’t know that it had been multiple people.”

Frankel also shared support for the other women who’ve been victims in similar attacks and warned her 13-year-old daughter Bryn about it for her safety.

On Wednesday, the NYPD released a statement on social media acknowledging the growing trend of women being hit in the face. They confirmed that one of the men who carried out the attacks was arrested and charged. The NYPD added that officers “will continue to remain resilient in their efforts to stop violent criminals, ensuring the safety of our communities.”

The NYPD identified the arrested individual to Time magazine as 40-year-old Skiboky Stora, who previously ran for the District 9 seat on the New York City Council and had intended to run for mayor in 2025.

PIX11 also reported that 33-year-old Franz Jeudy was arrested after a separate attack Thursday.

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