Who would have thought a contest where willing participants smack each other in the face would lead to violence?
As punishment for the fighting and public disruption, which happened in November, the popular nightclub Arnellia’s agreed on Thursday to give up their liquor license for ten days, following negotiations with the city. It’s going to hurt them in the wallet.
The “Smack Fest” involves two women taking turns hitting each other as hard as they can with the palm of their hands, while a raucous, largely male crowd watches (for more, please watch the short video at the end of this article).
Observers have decried the “Smack Fest” event as sexist and of questionable entertainment value.
Following the November “Smack Fest” in question, a woman said she was violently assaulted by one of the contestants, her boyfriend and six of her friends. The woman was punched in the nose and knocked on the ground, where the boyfriend stomped on her face.
During the fight one of the participants lost her wig.
The victim suffered significant bruising to her face and lost two artificial nails.
The penalty nightclub incurred a penalty because they failed to offer up security footage of the fight. Usually this would mean an 18 month liquor license suspension, but they were able to negotiate it down.
