Summer From 'Rick and Morty' Speaks On Harrowing Knife Attack
Spencer Grammer has broken her silence on an incident from 2020 wherein the Rick and Morty voice actress suffered a stab wound through her hand while trying to break up an altercation in a New York City restaurant. "I haven't really talked about it before. But everybody else that wrote about it at the time got it wrong," Grammer told People of the attack, the trauma of which still affects the artist behind the voice of Summer.
Grammer, a veteran actress and the daughter of Cheers and Frasier star Kelsey Grammer, finally revealed details of the incident in which the median nerve and two tendons in Grammer’s hand were severed, necessitating surgery and a lengthy healing process that continues to this day.
Back in 2020, Grammer and an unnamed friend were in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood when they spotted an escalating altercation between a restaurant patron and a drunken passerby who was denied service. “I tried to alleviate a fight,” said Grammer, "I honestly shouldn't have tried to help … But there wasn't a knife involved to begin with. It was like any normal fight, basically."
The ensuing conflict was a blur to Grammer, who had to piece together the seconds from the accounts of others present. Said Grammer, "I didn't see the person holding the knife, so it's difficult to say what happened really. Other people said what they saw, so everything revolved around eyewitness testimony." During the scuffle, Grammer was stabbed through the hand, and the actress was rushed to the hospital.
In the wake of the attack, Grammer underwent reconstructive surgery on the damaged hand, but physical and mental recovery have been arduous. Said Grammer, "My son had to tie my shoes for six months … I'm only now at peace with being able to work again and perform at the productivity level I'd like to. I had to go through crazy rehab after my surgery." Grammer says she still doesn’t have feeling in most of her hand, and simple tasks like putting in an earring have become much more difficult since the attack.
Still, Grammer doesn’t regret the decisions that led to such a gruesome injury. Said Grammer, "I think you're just one of those people who runs to help or you don't. It's just in you. And I probably would do that same thing again if I went back in time.”
That kind of courage is rare and admirable, especially in the wake of such a harrowing ordeal. Let us all burp loudly in her honor.
