A college graduate who sparked controversy on social media after footage showed her boldly snatching the microphone from a school official has defended her actions.
As previously reported, TikToker Kadia Iman - who goes by the handle @kadiaimantv - shared a video of her wrestling the mic from an administrator who appeared to be announcing the names of students during an outdoor ceremony.
The graduate, donning a pink-topped cap and black gown, said to the official: "I want the mic! Let go! You didn’t let me get my moment. I’m graduating today. I don’t like how you snatched the mic out of my hand, so today is going to be all about me," before dropping the mic and storming off.
Kadia's clip went viral on social media and was met with tons of support from users. However, some people still wanted a backstory of what happened, and so, the influencer posted a follow-up video explaining the situation in detail to her followers.
Watch Kadia's TikTok below:Responding to one user, Kadia said: "Basically, what happened was I was walking on and we had to say our names before we get 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."
"So, I didn’t even get to finish saying my name, and then the people that went before me, they all got to say their name, their major, and even extras.
"Me and another girl noticed that she was pulling the mic down super fast for some Black people - I don’t want to be that person, so I just couldn’t let her … I just couldn’t let that happen," she continued.
"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. I’m not a problematic person. I don’t want to ruin no one’s day," Kadia concluded.
As the mic-drop moment is continuing to make rounds online, Kadia made her TikTok page private. She then took to her Instagram to defend her actions.
"To everyone saying I should be embarrassed or I’ll never get a job … I’m a black woman in America," the content creator said on social media. "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. Love u."
According to Daily Mail, the NYC college Kadia graduated from has now responded to what transpired at the ceremony, describing her behavior as "unacceptable".
"We regret that the student's disruptive and inappropriate behavior impacted the celebration for graduates and guests. Her mistreatment of a staff volunteer was unacceptable," the school said in a statement.
"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," they concluded.
