Hairstylist dragged teenage girl across salon, used scissors to cut out the work she’d done because she wasn’t sent payment
Background: Jayla Cunningham drags a 15-year-old girl by her hood during a dispute over a payment for services (WTTG/YouTube). Inset: Cunningham speaks during an interview (WTTG/YouTube).
Posted For: Hauviette
A Maryland woman has received her sentence for dragging a 15-year-old girl across the floor of her hair salon after accusing the teen of trying to leave without paying.
Jayla Cunningham, 19, was sentenced to six months of home confinement, according to reports from local outlets including The Washington Post. She was found guilty in November of second-degree assault.
The incident gained widespread attention after Cunningham posted a video of the encounter on March 2, 2025. The clip went viral, reportedly receiving over 50 million views, and later served as evidence in her trial. Surveillance footage from inside the Temple Hills salon shows Cunningham pulling the teenager by her hoodie, forcing her across the floor, and instructing her to “stay right here,” adding, “I’m not f— playing. You just tried to f— run?”
The girl had just received a $150 weave installation, according to WTTG, a Fox affiliate in Washington, D.C. Cunningham then cut the weave out with scissors.
“She ran without paying me,” Cunningham told the station. “I dragged her by her hood back into the salon until I could get paid or, you know, until the police came or until she let me remove the service. She literally ran outside, like she was about to be gone. I feel like if I didn’t act, I would never have been paid.”
The teen’s mother later pressed charges, stating that Cunningham had pulled her daughter’s hair, not just the hoodie, and that the payment issue was a mix-up rather than an attempt to avoid paying. Cunningham reportedly learned of the charges only after the local news station reached out.
During court proceedings, Cunningham told a judge in Prince George’s County, Maryland, that she regrets her actions, asking, “Can you have faith in me? Can you believe in me that I am trying?” She explained that she was struggling with mental health issues and an abusive relationship at the time.
The judge acknowledged that Cunningham is not necessarily a bad person but emphasized that her treatment of the young girl was unacceptable. Along with home detention, her sentence requires participation in anger management classes and mental health counseling.
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