Tim McGraw performs onstage at the 2014 CMA Festival on June 5, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The videos that have surfaced (and there are a few) are from different angles but none from the stage itself, where Tim was singing from. So to announced in glaring headlines, "Tim McGraw Bitch Slaps Woman During Concert" and/or make Tim about to be an overly aggressive jerk is reaching at best and very much on the unfair side.
Regardless of whether you're male or female, if someone starts trying to rip your pants off, you have a legal and moral right to defend yourself. The fact that you're a superstar doesn't (or at least it shouldn't) play into it. Being a famous musician puts you in the limelight more often than not, but it doesn't mean that your body is open to mauling any time a fan wants to grab a handful!
Imagine if it had been Tim's wife, Faith Hill, on the stage and the aggressor had been a male fan. It's a safe bet that the headlines would have been calling for the guy to be arrested and for Faith to be given a medal for taking care of business.
As for the legality of it all, in an updated report, TMZ has reported that the Atlanta PD feels says that "it seems to them the woman is the aggressor and Tim's slap is 'a common reaction.'"
Tim's team has responded to all of the questions from reporters, with a statement from E! News that said, "At the end of the night during the encore, Tim was singing out in the audience and someone firmly grabbed onto his leg and wouldn't let go as he was moving through the crowd. He instinctively swatted to try and keep them from ripping his jeans (which they succeeded at doing!), and so he could get to more fans who were trying to slap hands with him before the end of the show. He didn't know who had grabbed him and was simply trying to keep his jeans from being torn."
