Yahoo Finance Moelis banker resigns from company after video showed him punching a woman at a Pride event
A banker resigned from Moelis after a video showed him punching a woman at a Pride event.
Jonathan Kaye was placed on leave after a video of the incident was posted on social media.
Kaye's spokesperson said he responded after he was assaulted and had liquid poured on him.
A senior Moelis banker who punched a woman at a Brooklyn Pride event this month has left the company, a spokesperson for the investment bank confirmed to Business Insider.
The banker, Jonathan Kaye, was in charge of Moelis' global-business-services franchise. As of Monday, his profile was no longer available on the firm's website. Bloomberg reported earlier on Monday about Kaye's resignation.
The banker was initially placed on leave after a video showing the incident on June 8 was posted on social media. A Moelis spokesperson told BI at the time that it was conducting an investigation.
The video included text that read: "This guy punched me in the face today and broke my nose and busted up my friends arm."
Citing a person "briefed on the matter," the Financial Times reported on June 10 that before the altercation, Kaye, who is Jewish, told someone at the event holding a Palestinian flag that they were "on the wrong side," and then four people poured liquid on him. The person added that Kaye fell to the ground and hurt his knee during the altercation.
In the video, a man, identified as Kaye, punches a woman, who falls down. The man can be seen walking away with a stain on the back of his blazer, and he can be heard saying, "She fucking threw shit all over me."
A spokesperson for Kaye told Business Insider that Kaye feared for his safety when he was surrounded by "agitators" who physically assaulted and threw liquids on him.
"Given the sharp rise in antisemitic incidents, any Jewish person in this situation would naturally feel threatened and feel the need to defend themselves and return safely to their family," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that Kaye had faced death threats since the incident and would cooperate with authorities. It's unclear whether any charges related to the altercation have been filed.
Read the original article on Business Insider
