A Georgia waitress is speaking out after she body slammed a drunk man for groping her on the job at a pizzeria. Video footage of Emelia Holden’s takedown of 31-year-old Ryan Cherwinski went viral on Thursday.
Holden, 21, said she body slammed Cherwinski after he groped her buttocks while she took an order from another patron.
“When I felt that happen, my first thought was that it was one of my friends. It was a really intimate touch,” she says. “His hand went further than it should have so I was thinking, ‘There’s no way a stranger just did that.’ ”
“I looked at him and I said, ‘You don’t touch me, motherf—–!'” Holden tells PEOPLE. “I didn’t even think, I just reacted. I don’t know how I reacted the way I did. I’ve never done that before.”
Holden told a co-worker to call the police. Cherwinski, of Palm Bay, Florida, was arrested and charged with sexual battery, a Savannah Police Department spokeswoman tells PEOPLE.
Feminists cheered Holden for standing up for the rights and dignity of women everywhere.
Holden said she never expected to go viral on the Internet. The video has garnered over 89,000 views on Youtube.
“I’m not glad that it happened, but I’m glad that it’s had such a positive outcome,” she tells PEOPLE. “I’m glad that other women can see this and know that you can stand up for yourself. You also have the right to wear whatever you want without having to worry about being groped,” she said.
“It’s nice to know that I have empowered other women.”
Holden hopes her newfound fame will benefit a GoFundMe page she created to raise funds for her feline friends at an animal shelter.
