10.03.2025 11:20
An 18-year-old hairstylist in Maryland, Jayla Cunningham, shared footage on social media showing her dragging a 15-year-old client across the salon floor following a dispute over a $150 payment. The video quickly went viral, and Cunningham is now facing criminal charges. After the incident, the young girl's mother filed a complaint with the police.
18-year-old hairstylist Jayla Cunningham, who lives in Maryland, shared footage on social media of the moments she dragged her 15-year-old client across the salon floor after a dispute over a $150 payment, and now she is facing criminal charges.
The rapidly spreading video shows Cunningham dragging the young girl by her hood down the salon corridor and forcibly pulling her into a room next to a trash bag. The girl is seen slipping on the wooden floor during this time.
In the video, Cunningham tells the girl: "You will sit here until someone sends the money. I'm not joking. You just tried to run away. You're lucky I didn't hit you."
Later, Cunningham cuts a portion of the girl's hair and steps out of the camera frame. The young girl tries to stand up while touching her hair. At this moment, Cunningham re-enters the frame and looks directly at the security camera.
After the incident, the young girl's mother reported it to the police. The mother stated that the hairstylist not only pulled her daughter by her hood but also by her hair, and she mentioned that her daughter experienced significant trauma from this incident.
Cunningham, defending herself, claims that the young client tried to run away without paying for the $150 service, which included a wig application:
"She tried to run away without paying me. I held her by her hood to bring her back to the salon until I got the money or the police arrived. Because she was going to go outside and leave. If I hadn't done that, she would have left, and I would never have gotten paid."
The young girl's mother tells a different story. According to the mother, her daughter accidentally sent the payment to another CashApp account and was caught by the hairstylist while trying to figure out how to pay Cunningham.
Now the family has hired a lawyer to represent their daughter. Lawyer De'Aja Thompson said: "This video is horrifying. The person we are talking about is a 15-year-old child. A child being dragged across the salon floor by her jacket over a simple mistake."
Cunningham is set to appear in court on April 18. It has also been reported that she previously faced three assault charges related to another incident and has a hearing on March 18.
Meanwhile, Cunningham stated in a post on Instagram that she has received death threats due to the viral video. She also implemented new rules for her business: loyal customers will still pay a $25 deposit, but new customers will have to pay in full upfront and send their identification. Additionally, teenagers aged 14-18 will need to come with an adult.