Sheriff meets with DaBaby after rapper’s Charlotte video stirred light rail controversy: ‘Potential collaborations’

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden met with rapper DaBaby just weeks after the Charlotte native drew controversy for filming a music video that reenacted the fatal light rail stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.

The sheriff’s office announced the sit-down in a post on social media Saturday evening, sharing a photo of McFadden seated beside the 33-year-old rapper, whose real name is Jonathan Lyndale Kirk.

Both men flashed peace signs in the photo, sitting side by side on a couch in an undisclosed location.

“Yesterday, Sheriff McFadden sat down with DaBaby to discuss important issues and potential collaborations,” the sheriff’s office wrote in the caption.

“Stay tuned to what’s cooking up.”

The post didn’t say what kind of project the pair discussed. A sheriff’s office spokesperson didn’t respond to The Post’s requests for comment Sunday.

DaBaby stirred fresh controversy last month with his self-directed “Save Me” video, which partially reenacted the fatal light rail stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.

The video shows actors portraying Zarutska and the alleged attacker, 34-year-old DeCarlos Brown Jr, on a Charlotte Area Transit System train.

In DaBaby’s retelling, the video opens with a brief clip from a news report, then cuts to a dramatized version where the rapper intervenes and stops the knife.

The scene ends with the young woman’s character walking home unharmed, followed by a screenshot of the real GoFundMe raising money for Zarutska’s family — now topping $471,000.

Zarutska, who worked at a local pizza shop, was killed Aug. 22 after being stabbed multiple times in an apparently unprovoked attack.

Prosecutors say Brown — a homeless man with a long record — stabbed her from behind in an assault caught on surveillance cameras. The footage went viral online.

Brown has pleaded not guilty to state murder charges and a federal count of causing death on a mass transportation system. He’s being held without bond.

DaBaby called the project a dedication to Zarutska and linked directly to the fundraiser. Charlotte transit officials told WSOC-TV that DaBaby filmed the scene on an active CATS train without approval.

Security later escorted his crew off the train, officials said.

“CATS did not grant permission for the video to be filmed,” the agency told the station, adding that it became aware of the shoot after users reported it through the CATS-Pass app.

DaBaby, who broke out nationally in 2019 with his smash hit “Suge,” is one of North Carolina’s biggest musical exports — and one of its most controversial.

The Charlotte-born rapper drew industry backlash in 2021 after making homophobic remarks during a Rolling Loud performance in Miami.

Several festivals cut him from their lineups, and brand partners pulled out in the fallout.

He’s also had brushes with violence. In 2018, DaBaby shot and killed a 19-year-old man inside a Huntersville Walmart, telling police he fired in self-defense.

Four years later, he said he opened fire on a trespasser at his Troutman home.

No charges were filed in either case.

McFadden, 64, has served as Mecklenburg County sheriff since 2018, following a 36-year run with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, where he earned a national profile as a homicide detective on the Investigation Discovery series “I Am Homicide.”

A fixture in Charlotte public life, McFadden has faced his own controversies.

Former employees have accused him of creating a hostile work environment and using racially charged language — allegations he has denied.

His tenure has also drawn scrutiny over jail management and staffing turnover.

As of Sunday, DaBaby’s “Save Me” video had surpassed 2 million views on YouTube. The GoFundMe supporting Zarutska’s family remains active.