The social media influencer who drew backlash after forcing a woman to jump into a lake in a cruel stunt has now been accused of assault in a separate incident.
The accusations came after 25-year-old Natalie Reynolds shot fellow streamer Benny Mack with a paintball gun during a livestream event.
Reynolds and Mack, who both produce content for the online platform Kick, were taking part in a multi-day scavenger hunt in Austin, Texas on Friday.
The event was organized by another streamer who promised a $30,000 prize to those who filmed themselves completing a series of challenges.
The controversial Internet personality could be seen confronting another group of streamers and firing a paintball, which hit Mack’s left arm.
Social media influencer Natalie Reynolds, 25, has drummed up controversy yet again after firing a paintball gun at another livestreamer
Reynolds was accused of ‘assault’ by streamer Benny Mack, who attempted to wrestle the gun from her and pin her to the ground
New Zealand-born Mack immediately accused Reynolds of assault. ‘And I don’t have glasses on. That’s against the Kick TOS [terms of service],’ he said.
The man then attempted to wrestle the gun from her, pushing her to the ground in the process.
‘Don’t come at me with a firearm, b****! And yes, I disarmed you,’ Mack shouted.
‘Dude, you’re f***ing psycho,’ Reynolds said as she got to her feet.
Reynolds later uploaded a clip of the incident to X, formerly Twitter, with the caption ‘crazy guy attacks me after getting shot with paintball gun’.
The post has since been deleted.
The incident comes after Reynolds faced a firestorm of controversy for a stunt that saw her directing another woman to jump into a lake, despite the woman claiming that she was unable to swim.
While partaking in the scavenger hunt on May 29, the 25-year-old mimed pushing the woman into the water before telling her, ‘You should just jump in right now.’
The influencer previously sparked fury after directing a woman to dive into an Austin, Texas lake as part of a social media stunt
After jumping in, the woman called to shore, saying she couldn’t swim. Reynolds and her friends fled the scene
The woman then dove in while Reynolds mocked her, turning to her camera crew and laughing. ‘Did you see her a**?’
‘I can’t swim, I can only float,’ the woman called from the water.
‘Stop, seriously, you’re actually freaking me out,’ Reynolds said. ‘I’m going to f***ing kill myself. She says she’s drowning.’
She and her friends fled, filming themselves all the while from the backseat of a car. They returned only to record the moment a fire truck arrived at the scene.
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The Austin Police Department responded to the incident, but a police report was not filed, according to a spokesperson. No charges were laid as of Friday.
Reynolds later claimed that the woman was ‘on drugs’ and was not actually drowning.
However, this display of callousness drew the rage of netizens on social media platform Reddit, where a clip of the livestream was reuploaded.
‘Why wouldn’t they stay and help her? That’s absolutely horrible. There is a special place in hell for people like this,’ one user wrote.
‘These people are focused on getting content and nothing else,’ another user remarked.
‘That woman isn’t a human being to them. She is a prop,’ yet another asserted. ‘Suddenly though, this “prop” starts pleading for help and it’s like for the first time these d***heads are realizing they put an actual person’s life in jeopardy.’
‘These people are focused on getting content and nothing else,’ one Reddit user commented following the lake incident
Reynolds was slammed for yet another stunt back in December, where she painted on a pair of leggings before heading to the gym
The lake stunt was not the first time Reynolds ignited fury, as she was lambasted by netizens for painting on her gym clothes back in December.
The streamer donned blue body paint over a pair of nude swimsuit bottoms and strode into a local gym.
She was quickly ordered to leave by a man who asserted that her that choice of attire – or lack thereof – was ‘not fine’.
Reynolds later issued an apology on social media.
‘I’ve made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment and I don’t expect to be forgiven,’ she wrote. ‘I am simply here to apologize.’