Influencer Hayes Grier Charged With Robbery & Assault In Cellphone Fight

Hayes Grier, the influencer who appeared on Dancing with the Stars, has been charged with robbery and assault following an incident in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Grier is accused of assaulting William Markolf and stealing his cell phone. He was charged on counts of felony conspiracy, common law robbery and assault causing serious bodily injury. Grier was released on bail not long after. Markolf received grave injuries from the assault, including brain damage, hearing loss, bruised ribs, head trauma and a broken left orbital bone.

Grier was the youngest contestant to ever appear in Dancing with the Stars at only fifteen when he competed in the dance show during its twenty-first season in 2015. Grier was partnered with Emma Slater and the two came in eighth place, being eliminated on a “night where he excelled” according to host Tom Bergeron. Grier also appeared as the recurring character Noodle in the first season of the horror streaming television series Freakish on the streaming service Hulu.

Grier first rose to fame through his status on the now-defunct video app Vine. He now has more than 880,000 followers on his YouTube channel and 5.6 million followers on his Instagram account. Grier is also the younger brother of Will Grier, the backup quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, and Nash Grier, who was the second most followed user on Vine during its run from 2013 to 2017. Grier had also started a reality show on the Verizon Go90 app titled Top Grier, with the members of his family involved in the series. The show premiered in 2016 and ran for three seasons with a total of 72 episodes.