Rapper DaBaby has stirred controversy again with the release of his new music video for the song “Save Me,” which reenacts the stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on public transit in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Zarutska, just 23 years old, was brutally killed on August 22 while riding Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line, allegedly stabbed to death by Decarlos Brown Jr., who now faces criminal charges. A refugee from war-torn Ukraine, she had fled her homeland in 2022 seeking safety and a new life.
DaBaby’s music video opens with actual surveillance footage showing Zarutska entering the train in her pizzeria uniform, heading home after a shift. It then transitions to dramatized scenes in which actors portray Zarutska and her alleged attacker, who is also wearing a red hoodie, similar to the one Brown wore.
“Do you think you can save me?” the song’s chorus goes.
Sitting next to the attacker and wearing a black hoodie, DaBaby, the Charlotte native, raps, “Think you could save me like your God or something?”
“When I stay silent on my morals, yeah it cost me plenty,” he says elsewhere. 'Better stay out my face cause I’m a man and I will bleed you down.”
“No nine-to-five, you rather post up at the store or something - so we can’t save you.”
In a departure from the real outcome, the video shows DaBaby - whose real name is Jonathan Lyndale Kirk - intervening at the last moment, stopping the attack, and preventing the stabbing that, in reality, claimed Zarutska’s life.
The Youtube caption accompanying the video reads: ‘A dedication to Iryna Zarutska.’ There is also a GoFundMe link for Zarutska’s family, which has reached $437,200 as of Wednesday morning.
.jpg)
The Independent has contacted representatives for DaBaby and the creators of Zarutska’s GoFundMe for comment.
The reenactment has divided opinion online. Some have praised the rapper for bringing increased attention to the tragic event, while others have criticized the video as exploitative.
“A lot of people are hating on him for making this, but I'm glad a celebrity finally brought some attention to what happened,” one person commented on YouTube.
“One of the craziest video concepts I’ve seen in a while,” another person said.
A third wrote, “Wow, DaBaby just gained some seriously massive respect in my book. Thank you for having the courage to bring attention to this tragedy. Using your voice for good like this is truly admirable.”
Meanwhile, back on Instagram, one user thought the video was “VERY insensitive.”
“Who...on your team thought this was a good idea???” one person asked.
“I’m sorry, that affect that you trying to capitalize on this. It’s to (sic) fresh. This is sick!” another said.
“This is going to be very problematic,” another predicted.
Another user commented in Dababy’s defense.
“If you look at the full video on YT [YouTube] and pay attention to the lyrics, you'll understand the message; He's hurt that, unfortunately, he wasn't on the train and in a space where he could've tried to stop bro and talk him out of not doing the act, saving both parties,” they wrote. “But there are some people you just can't save. ‘SAVE ME.’”
DaBaby is no stranger to controversy. As well as a string of legal issues, he faced backlash after a homophobic rant while on stage at Rolling Loud in 2021. The incident saw him removed from festival line ups across the world.
