Watch Flavor Flav Ring the New York Stock Exchange’s Closing Bell & Send the Gavel Flying Into Crowd

10 September, 2024

Flavor Flav knows how to work his way around a clock, but maybe don’t let him get a gavel in his hands. The lesson was learned when the Public Enemy rapper joined U.S. Women’s Water Polo Team goalie Ashleigh Johnson at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday (Sept. 9).

That’s when Flav got a bit overzealous with the gavel when attempting to ring the closing bell, which saw him lose control of the hammer and accidentally send it into the crowd. “FLAVOR FLAV::: They said it was good luck if I hit it hard,” he captioned his Instagram post.

Fans hit the rapper with jokes in his comments section after he nearly decked an onlooker with the gavel. “Is catching the gavel from flav akin to catching the bouquet at a wedding,” one person asked. Another added, “Opening the stock exchange?! What happened to fighting the power?”

The 65-year-old hadn’t had the opportunity to be at the NYSE in his career, and he basked in the honor after watching it on television all these years.

“This means the world to me right now to be here at the Stock Exchange,” Flav added. “The only time I ever seen it was on TV. Now I get to be here part of it. Yeah, boy!”

Flavor Flav signed a five-year sponsorship deal with the U.S. Women’s and Men’s Water Polo Teams, for whom he served as the hype man at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. His sponsorship came with a $1,000 check to each player and a cruise voyage for the women’s team.

It’s a busy week running around the Big Apple for Flav. After stops at the U.S. Open tennis championship and the NYSE, the New York native is slated to appear at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday (Sept. 11).

Watch some of the highlights from his NYSE trip below.