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Retailers across Ireland are being called to shun Conor McGregor’s stout and whiskey brands following a civil court jury’s verdict that found him liable for sexually assaulting hair colourist Nikita Hand. A prominent rape crisis organisation has declared that no store should endorse the products of an individual held accountable for such misconduct.
This development emerges shortly after a High Court jury granted Ms Hand up to €250,000 in damages, stemming from her allegations that McGregor raped her in the penthouse suite of the Beacon Hotel in Dublin back in December 2018. Cliona Saidlear, the executive director of Rape Crisis Network Ireland, has urged shops to reject the disgraced UFC fighter’s Forged stout and Proper No 12 whiskey brands, stating: “The companies making money from his alcohol and other products need to look at whether they want to align themselves with a man found by a civil jury to have sexually assaulted a woman.”
She further commented, “They need to stop promoting him and distance themselves… €250,000 won’t dent his finances, but the public can play a role here in expressing disapproval for anyone that tries make money with a man who engaged in that despicable behaviour.”
Despite the controversy, McGregor’s Proper No 12 whiskey, which he sold in 2023 but continues to represent, along with his Forged Irish Stout, are available in supermarkets and off-licences.
Nevertheless, McGregor is slated for another legal confrontation early next year as he faces a lawsuit from former close friend and ex-MMA fighter Artem Lobov over a dispute concerning his No12 whiskey,
The Dublin-based Russian businessman, boasting a masters business degree from DCU, asserts that the concept of McGregor’s whiskey brand was an original idea of his own making. The former UFC champion McGregor is alleged to have promised him a 5% share in the lucrative enterprise as compensation for his extensive aid in establishing the brand.
Despite this, he reportedly failed to receive his fair portion of the profits when McGregor disposed of the majority of his ownership for a sum upwards of €150million. A High Court hearing for the contentious commercial dispute is anticipated to be scheduled in January.
Sources well-versed in legal affairs suggest McGregor could face a financial hit mounting to millions. An insider implicated the severity of the situation: “This case is not before a jury but could cost him around eight million if he loses.”