Elderly comedian recovering after being randomly punched on the streets of New York City

NEW YOKR CITY, NY - Comedian D'yan Forest, who is 89-years-old, was randomly punched and knocked to the ground while waiting to cross a street New York City. 

According to ABC News, Forest said that she had stopped at a coffee shop and was heading to a swimming pool when someone came up to her from behind and hit her in the eye. She laid on the ground in shock, waiting for police and first responders to come to her aid. Recalling the violent incident she said, "I thought I had lost use of the eye because I couldn't see anything."

Thankfully, her eyesight returned over the span of four hours while she underwent tests at a local hospital. When recalling the incident, she said, "I'm looking at the light waiting for it to change. And all of a sudden, whammo! I didn't know what happened." According to CBS News, police said she was sucker-punched in the face by another woman at the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 11th Street.

She said, "I just felt it was my eye and I thought, oh my God, even my nose didn't get it. And I just had Botox the day before. People picked me up and sat me on the bench, but I couldn't see out of my left eye." Forest said she has lived in Greenwich Village since 1966 and had never had anything else bad happen to her aside from watching the 9/11 terrorist attacks from her rooftop. 

After leaving the hospital, Forest beelined it to the rehearsal for her upcoming gig. She said, "I walked out. I did my rehearsal. Of course, my director said, 'You look horrible.' Just what I need because I hadn't really seen myself."

Since the random, unprovoked attack, Forest said, "I walk around the village now and I don't go near anybody. I don't want to be near anybody." She said the random attack also dealt a mental blow saying, "I [was] sort of shook and I didn't want to talk about it for a couple days. At first, I felt whatever, it's my fault."

Police said that the female suspect in the July 10th incident had a medium complexion and cornrow braids. She was last seen wearing a tank top and shorts with a Jurassic Park logo.

After being hit and knocked to ground, Forest said, "I looked at a woman in front and I thought she was going to come help me up because I'm lying on the ground in shock. She gave a scowling look at me and then ran right ahead. So, I guess she was the perpetrator."

Forest holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest working female comedian. She said her first though after falling to the ground was whether she would be presentable for her July 29th nightclub show. She said that her eye is healing adding, "My eye was totally red and horrible. But now at least I can go on stage without a black eye."

According to the most recent data from the New York Police Department (NYPD), felony assaults on people over the age of 65 were up 10 percent from 2021 t0 2022. Forest felt unsettled by those numbers because for the past few decades has always seen her neighborhood as her peaceful home. She said, "I'm scared. I just, you know, I'm looking around."

If she was able to speak to Mayor Eric Adams, she said she would plead with him to address the epidemic of homeless, mentally ill people in her own backyard. She said, "I would say this is what is happening now. There are more homeless, mentally ill homeless on the street, and even in my precious Village. And this is what I've noticed this summer. Just get these people off the streets. Get them help ... so 90-year-old ladies won't be socked!"

She said that her eye hurts when she smiles, but thankfully, there is no permanent damage. She said she plans to make it up on stage for her upcoming stand-up.