Women may soon be painting the town red — literally.
A social media influencer is urging New York City women to carry spray paint instead of pepper spray to defend themselves from attackers, amid a string of unprovoked attacks and assaults on women.
Monique “Moe” Black, a 29-year-old fashion influencer Detroit native who regularly travels to the Big Apple for gigs, said a can of spray paint is more reliable and easier to get — and marks the perp so that cops know exactly who the bad guy is.
“I prefer spray enamel, to be honest, because that sh-t is never coming off,” Black told The Post.
She said she knew she needed some type of protection when she started traveling to the city for work.
Black puts a can in her tote bag, under her shoulder where it is easy to grab.
The idea came from her stepdad, a retired homicide detective for the Detroit Police Department.
“He was like, ‘You know, if you spray somebody in the face and then whack them over the head with it, you’re probably going to have enough time to run away,’” Black said.
And there is less chance it will blow back in the user’s face like pepper spray.
Growing up in the notoriously tough 7 Mile Road area of Detroit, she and her friends would walk to school with Master Locks in a sock to defend themselves.
The Big Apple now feels a lot like Detroit, she added.
And after watching videos of women getting randomly attacked in New York City, she was inspired to share the tip on TikTok. The video has gotten over 3 million views.
Already, one woman messaged her to thank her for sharing the tip, saying it saved her life in a domestic violence situation.
“I was in a domestic violence situation and I remembered your video,” the woman told Black. “I used spray paint and it gave me enough time to run out of my house and my neighbors were able to see me covered in blood and they called the police.”
Others reached out from around the world, like in the UK, where many self-defense tools are prohibited.
In New York, it is legal to carry pepper spray but illegal for it to be shipped here. Stores must be licensed or authorized to sell it in person and few are.
“All my friends in the city order it to, like, an Amazon locker in Jersey City,” said Black. “It is technically legal, but you’re gonna have to go over the river and through the woods to maybe pick up a bedazzled pepper spray that probably won’t do anything.”
She was most surprised at comments on her video from women who were afraid of injuring their attacker.
“They should feel no sympathy,” Black said. “You have every right to do whatever you need to to survive.”
