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Kanye West will not face charges for allegedly punching a fan who was asking for his autograph outside of a Los Angeles hotel back in January.
As the 45-year-old year-old artist was being investigated for criminal battery, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office released a statement to TMZ on Tuesday which revealed that there simply was not enough evidence.
It read: ‘After a thorough and careful review of all the evidence, our office is declining to file based on no reasonable likelihood of conviction.’
Moving on: Kanye West (seen in LA back in November) will not face charges for allegedly punching a fan who was asking for his autograph outside of a Los Angeles hotel back in January according to TMZ on Tuesday
The case was being investigated as a misdemeanor battery, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail.
Back in January Kanye allegedly got into an argument with the fan around 3 a.m. outside the Soho Warehouse, a members-only club, in Downtown Los Angeles, FOX 11 reported.
In a video obtained by TMZ an enraged West can been heard shouting ‘get away from me!’ at a woman who appears to be trying to calm him down.’
The woman in the video is heard telling West, ‘I am your family.’ She is understood to be his cousin.
‘No reasonable likelihood of conviction’: The 45-year-old year-old artist (seen December 2018) was being investigated for criminal battery, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office released a statement to TMZ on Tuesday which revealed that there simply was not enough evidence
Kanye and then-girlfriend Julia Fox (pictured) were seen at Delilah nightclub in West Hollywood earlier in the evening on January 13 prior to the alleged altercation with a fan that happened around 3 a.m. outside Soho Warehouse in Los Angeles
As she tries to calm him down she says, ‘give me your hand,’ to which an angry West snaps back: ‘No, get away from me! Ain’t no hands, ain’t no hands.’
The woman then adds, ‘I am your family. Give me your hand.’
West is then heard telling her, ‘You were supposed to talk to her!’
However, it is unclear who the rapper is referring to.
Footage shows the autograph hunter laid out on the pavement. TMZ reports West allegedly punched him twice, first in his neck then to his head.
According to reports, the fan approached West, who was sitting in his SUV outside the club, and asked for his autograph, which reportedly led to a heated exchange.
The argument then turned physical and West allegedly punched the fan, knocking him to the ground.
West was not at the scene when authorities arrived, FOX 11 reported.
A fan was allegedly punched by West outside the Soho Warehouse (pictured), a members-only club, in Downtown Los Angeles
Pictured: The man seen in the middle is believed to be the autograph hunter that Kanye allegedly punched
A video obtained by TMZ that was reportedly taken by a bystander around the same time of the incident, shows an apparent irate West.
He is heard yelling, ‘Did y’all say that or not? Did y’all say that or not? Cause that’s what happened right f–king now.’
No arrests have been made and LAPD is investigating the case, a police spokesperson confirmed.
Earlier in the evening, West had been with girlfriend Julia Fox at Delilah in West Hollywood for a star-studded dinner date after spending the evening with Madonna and Floyd Mayweather.
Kanye West was out signing autographs on January 10, just days before he allegedly punched a fan for asking for an autograph outside Soho Warehouse in Los Angeles early Thursday
The group appeared to be in high spirits after Diana Ross’ son Evan Ross shared video footage of them on Instagram.
While it was previously reported that West’s new romance has gotten under the skin of his estranged wife Kim Kardashian, sources claimed she is happy to see the Donda artist smiling again.
West, who is no stranger to controversy, has had his share of outbursts over the years.
During the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, he stormed the stage during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video, an award he claims should have gone to Beyoncé.
In 2018, West spoke out in support of former President Donald Trump. Wearing a Make America Great Again hat to the Oval Office, he gave a rambling speech to Trump and reporters, and stating that the Trump ‘is on his hero’s journey’ and told him he loved him.
But in 2020, West announced that he no longer supported Trump as he launched his own presidential bid.
‘I am taking the red hat off, with this interview,’ he told Forbes, although it was unclear whether Trump’s handling of the pandemic – which Kayne called ‘one big mess’ – may also have been a reason.
Night out: Earlier that evening, Kanye West and Julia Fox (left) partied at LA hotspot Delilah with stars Madonna, (centre) and Floyd Mayweather, (right)
He also said it was wrong to assume that black people will always vote for Democrats. ‘To say that the Black vote is Democratic is a form of racism and white supremacy,’ he claimed.
West has gone on a longwinded Twitter rants on everything from lashing out against the #MeToo movement and ‘Cancel Culture’ to calling COVID-19 vaccines ‘the mark of the beast.’
Kim initially filed for divorce in early 2021, but was seen by his side for months in support of his new album release.
In a rambling interview with Revolt TV last November, which featured numerous digressions and left turns, he discussed the jokes Kim made about their split when she hosted Saturday Night Live last month.
In her opening monologue, Kim, 41, quipped: ‘when I divorced him, you have to know it came down to just one thing: his personality.’
Addressing the dig, West hit back: ‘SNL making my wife say “I divorced him” on TV because they just wanted to get that bar off… And I ain’t never even see the papers, we not even divorced.’
‘I want us to be together,’ West added before insisting that it was ‘the media’ didn’t want him and Kim to work out their differences.
Kanye split with Julia in February which was a month after the alleged incident.