Waitress Who Gave Handsy Customer a Smackdown Lashes Out at Critics of Her Clothing
Emelia Holden has been attacked by internet trolls who say she was asking to be groped because of how she was dressed.
The waitress hailed as a hero for taking down a guy who rudely grabbed her behind is now being shamed by social media trolls taking issue with the short shorts and crop top she was wearing at the time.
“Puts it all on display then goes absolutely berserk when some drunk guy takes the bait,” was one rude comment.
“Women who walk around half naked are clearly looking for male attention so why act like that when they get it?” was another.
Emilia Holden, of Savannah, Georgia, has now been forced to fight back and defend herself yet again.
“You have every right to stand up for yourself regardless of what you are wearing,” she told Inside Edition. “Where I work it's like 100 degrees. It's Savannah. I also work at a pizza restaurant where it's like an oven."
Police have now released bodycam footage showing the arrest of her accused groper, Ryan Cherwinski.
Despite Cherwinski's claims that he only brushed by the waitress as he passed her, police saw differently after viewing surveillance footage from inside the restaurant.
Despite the shaming, Holden says overall response to the smackdown of the unruly customer has been empowering.
Her boss was quoted as saying, "We're all proud."
Holden weighs just 115 pounds. Her accused groper is 170 pounds and since the incident, which took place on June 30, she has been taking jiu-jitsu lessons.
“I've gotten a lot of messages from people telling me how they showed their daughters and how proud of me everyone is," she told Inside Edition. "It's really empowering and inspiring. I got a lot of messages from parents saying they've shown their daughters, they think I’m a hero it's very rewarding and reassuring."
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