Russian tv viewers were left shocked after a fellow contestant lost his cool and punched a woman in the face over a competition to win a car.
The incident (see below) has since led to many arguing that the man was provoked prior to abruptly attacking the woman donning a bikini on the show.
According to the UK’s dailymail the attack came amongst eight fellow competitors who took part in a ‘touch the truck’ style competition to win a car.
Game rules stipulate that contestants must keep their hands on the prize for as long as possible. If they let go they lose their place in the competition. The last person touching the prize wins.
Leading into the sudden outburst one of the women, dressed in a skimpy thong bikini (does this pass for rules too?) is seen behaving provocatively, waving a high-heeled platform shoe in the air and pretending to lick it.
She then swings the shoe into the head of a fellow contestant. It is clear that he is not amused.
A horn sounds as he lets go of the car and forfeits his place in the competition. He turns towards the woman and grabs her by her hair, his hands each side of her head, hurling her to the floor.
The woman lands with a thud, and is notably shocked and hurt. But her attacker hasn’t finished. Bending over the woman he puts his left hand on her shoulder and, with his right, slaps her in her face with his open palm.
Finished with his sudden violent outburst, the man walks back over to the car and puts his hand on it – even though he must know that he has already forfeited his chances of winning.
The woman meanwhile lies on the floor, clutching her face, until a presenter wanders over and puts his hands on her shoulders. Still sobbing, the presenter asks the woman if she’s okay before she turns and gives him a thumbs-up.
A final shot reveals the woman speaking to the presenter, still tearful. As her hand moves away from her face viewers can see her nose is smeared with blood.
The incident which has since gone viral on youtube, has left commentators in debate, with some arguing the victim provoked the man whilst others argued against the man’s decision to lash out such a vicious attack on the woman.
But some who had seen the entire program provided context that at least explained what had led to the attack.
‘He asked her multiple times to stop. She was hitting him, and others in the show multiple times, also spitting, cursing, etc. He just snapped, like most others would,’ wrote one commenter.
Another said: ‘She was antagonizing everyone on that set. Spitting on them, cursing at them, hitting them with shit, slapping them. The guy that ended up throwing her to the ground and punching her kept his cool the entire time until this point. Prior to throwing her down he had repeatedly asked her to stop, but she persisted.’
Nevertheless many other commentators have maintained despite the provocation, the man’s actions were out of order and indicative of permissive attitudes towards women.
Reflected one commentator: ‘He broke her nose because she touched his face with a shoe? And you people think that’s a normal reaction? Let’s say that’s your mother or sister or girlfriend. Would you still say she deserved to get her nose broken?’
Told another: ‘You people who are actually defending this physically stronger guy for hurling a woman onto the floor and then whacking her in the face are absolutely disgusting *****.
‘So a woman swings a shoe about near a guy’s face in a playful way, possibly slightly brushes his face, and apparently it’s equality because she deserved what she got?!
‘What sort of f***ing warped morals do you lot live by? This is completely unacceptable behavior.’
The incident mirrors a similar situation here in NYC where a F subway train passenger would strike a fellow female passenger after being provoked by a female passenger. In that instance video would show the woman striking the man with her high heel before striking her in the head. Charges against the man would later be dropped.
Russian coping methods