Tim McGraw on 'Swatting' Incident: 'Nobody Feels Good About It'

By
ETONLINE

Tim McGraw is speaking out for the first time about the swatting incident that went viral.

It all started last week when the country star was performing in Atlanta where a female fan in the front row got a little too close for comfort, and the Grammy-award winning singer is seen striking the woman after she latches on to his jeans. Moments later, security swoops in to remove the woman from the scene.

Video: Tim McGraw 'Swats' Front-Row, Jean-Ripping Fan

"Sometimes things can lose context and perspective. I reacted in an instinctive, defensive way from my perspective of what was going on," McGraw told ET Canada at Toronto's Molson Amphitheatre on Sunday night. "I think it was an unfortunate situation, I think, all the way around. But it happened. It happened in a split second, it was pure instinctive reaction, I think you just got to move on. It is one of those things that happen -- nobody feels good about it -- but there's nothing that could be done about it. You are in that position, you are out there, you are vulnerable, things happen and sometimes you react. There's nothing to be said about it."

This is the first time McGraw himself has addressed the situation.

On Friday, his rep told ET that the "swat" was "instinctive."

Video: Behind-the-Scenes of Tim McGraw's New Music Video

"He instinctively swatted to try and keep them from ripping his jeans (which they succeeded at doing), and so he could get to more fans who were trying to slap hands with him before the end of the show," his rep said in a statement. "He didn't know who had grabbed him and was trying to keep his pants from being torn."