A homeless man who went viral after he was recorded shaving on an NJ Transit train is now speaking out. NBC10 informed him that the man who recorded him is now donating proceeds from the video to him.
The commuter who filmed another man shaving on a commuter train heading out of New York City and posted the video on social media says he never intended any harm and is now lending a helping hand.
“I never intended any harm by taking or posting this video,” Pete Bentivegna said in a tweet Tuesday. “There has been a lot of licensing interest and all proceeds will be going to support Anthony Torres and his family.”
NBC10’s Aaron Baskerville was the first person to break the news of the proceeds to Torres during a Facebook Live interview Tuesday.
“I’m not a bad person,” Torres said. “I’m telling you I’m not.”
Torres told NBC10 he was on his way to his brother’s house in Atco, New Jersey, Thursday and was trying to clean up when Bentivegna recorded him. The clip of Torres sitting in his seat, steadily swiping away at his lathered face and tossing the shaving cream from the razor onto the floor sparked a huge reaction online.
The self-grooming earned its share of negative comments on the internet, with insults like “slob,” ″animal” and “nasty.” Others humorously lauded his steady hand with a razor. A few cautioned against passing judgment and suggested people didn’t know the whole story.
Torres said the people judging him on social media don’t know the struggle he’s been through in his life. Torres has been in and out of jobs, living on the streets and homeless shelters since 1989.
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“My life is all screwed up. That’s the reason I was shaving on the train,” he said
Torres said he didn’t realize he was being filmed on the train. When he found out the video was circulating on the internet, he was amazed and a little upset.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God. I wonder who posted that,’” he said.
Torres told NBC10 he forgives Bentivegna and asked for forgiveness himself.
“I’m [going to] make sure it won’t happen again,” Torres said. “I hope they forgive me. But that’s not the person I am.”
While Torres spoke to NBC10 on Facebook Live, viewers overwhelmingly told him he had nothing to apologize for. Torres also shared an important message.
“Try not to judge anybody because you really don’t know their life,” he said. “You don’t know how they’re living their life.”
