DETROIT (WWJ) -- Detroit mayoral candidate John Barlow is challenging claims that he was harassing a group of women, as they allege in a series of videos posted to TikTok.
In one video, with more than 2 million views, Barlow walks closer as a young woman screams after she claims he followed her and her friends down the street.
Barlow tells WWJ Newsradio 950 these videos were taken out of context, and he adamantly denies the allegations.
In an interview with WWJ's Darrylin Horne, Barlow said he was wrapping up a night of campaigning at different parties around the city, when he approached the group. After he said he handed the women a flyer, they said they weren't interested, and an argument broke out.
Barlow said he tried his best to deescalate the situation, but the scene quickly became chaotic.
"To make a long story short, she started to scream while laughing — her and her friends were laughing and screaming — but trying to calm her down," Barlow told Horne. "They weren't screaming at me or anything like that. They wanted her to calm down, and before that they were trying to keep us separated when she kept on engaging me with her phone."
Barlow said the women have tried to create a "false narrative" that he was harassing them, and said he did not knock a phone out of one woman's hand as she claims.
"Upon all the commotion, her friend bumps into her. She makes it seem like I'm the one who took her phone, or tried to take her phone, or knock her phone out of her hand," Barlow told Horne.
"At that moment I said: 'Listen, can we just have an agreement to all calm down? You all don't vote anyway, y'all don't want to hear my spiel, you know? Can we just find a way to resolve this without blowing it up and bringing the public into it?'"
Listen to Barlow's full remarks to WWJ here.
Detroit's mayoral primary is scheduled for August 5. Based on June polling data, Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield is in the lead among the candidates, with anywhere from 34% to 38% support.