A Times Square Spider-Man claimed he was acting in self-defense when he slugged a woman who refused to tip him him yesterday.
Philip Williams, 35-year-old Williamsburg resident, was released without having to post bail this morning after he was charged with assault and harassment.
Williams had posed for pictures with the 44-year-old woman’s kids but didn’t receive a tip, according to prosecutors.
“Sorry I don’t have any [money],” the woman said, according to prosecutors. Williams responded “You’re crap,” the DA said.
The women then made a snowball and beaned Williams, his defense lawyer and prosecutor agreed.
Defense lawyer Rachel Black insisted this was clearly a case of self-defense.
“The complaining witness made contact with my client,” she said.
Prosecutors said Williams has a rap sheet that includes a grand larceny and and retail fraud bust when he was 17 and living in Michigan.
Black didn’t dispute the DA’s claim, but told the Manhattan judge that Williams made all court appearances in that matter.
Cops showed up yesterday near 141 W. 43rd St. after the 3 p.m. and stopped the victim’s husband from possibly hurting Williams, law enforcement sources and witnesses said.
“A woman came to me and said, ‘What did you do to me, you f–ker?’ ” said another Times Square Spidey, who wouldn’t give his name.
“Her husband came over and said it was a different Spider-Man. They went over to the other one and started fighting.”
Witnesses said the woman’s husband pounded the offending Spider-Man with a backpack before cops arrived to bust Spidey.
This unwanted attention has other Times Square cartoon characters worried about their livelihood.
“Getting arrested isn’t good for any of us,” said Times Square worker Christian, who dresses as Big Bird. “It makes us all look bad.”
The incident casts another mark on the city’s costumed busker community.
A man wearing an Elmo costume was arrested last September for disorderly conduct after spouting anti-Semitic rants in Central Park. Another man — dressed as video-game hero Mario — was arrested in December and charged with forcible touching after allegedly groping a woman.
Additional reporting by David K. Li