In an exclusive interview with NewsOne, the 17-year-old who refused to give up his bike to Sarah Jane Comrie said she’s been ‘rewarded’ for her antics while he and his family are suffering.
Mary and Michael are eager to talk to me, but Betty, their mother, is reluctant to let Michael speak with anyone.
He’s only 17 years old. “He’s my baby,” Betty says. He’s a senior in high school. He should be planning to attend his prom and looking forward to walking the stage at his graduation in a few weeks, but instead, he and his family have spent the last week and a half living in turmoil. Michael is the teen in the infamous Citi Bike video with Sarah Jane Comrie, the woman who has been accused of weaponizing whiteness and her tears in an effort to take the bike from the teen in New York City.
Betty has seen video after video of racists and trolls calling her son a “thug” and a “thief” and labeling him as a “man” when, in her words, “He’s just a boy.” It hurts her that people are saying these things — things that she knows are not true — about him. He’s only 17. He doesn’t deserve to be going through this. Betty is upset because she says the narrative has been one-sided.
“No one bothered to contact us to find out Michael’s story,” she said in a low voice during an interview on Wednesday. “They write all of these things about him, but no one bothered to ask him what happened or look at his receipts.”
Michael interjected: “That’s because if they have my side of the story, she doesn’t have a case.” Mary agreed with him, saying, “Right.”
Throughout the entire 50-minute interview with Betty and her children, she had her phone out watching video after video of conservatives and racists saying negative things about her baby. She is afraid that someone will try to harm her son or her family.
“No one is helping us,” she said, her voice cracking. “We are poor people. We are immigrants. We can’t afford a lawyer.” Mary, who is 24, and Michael told their mother that now is their chance to tell his story. Betty agreed only on the condition that their names are changed to protect their identities. “I don’t want anything to happen to my family,” Betty said. “Do you know what I mean?”
R&I-Rawr
Article URL : https://newsone.com/4592993/sarah-jane-comrie-update-citi-bike-teens-mother-speaks-out/