Brands have begun distancing themselves from former UFC champion Conor McGregor shortly after the MMA star lost a civil sexual assault trial in Ireland.
A pair of products, including the Proper No. 12 whiskey line which has become synonymous with McGregor for the past six years, have severed their ties with the prizefighter after a Dublin court found him liable for a 2018 rape of hairdresser Nikita Hand.
Proximo Spirits, the owner of Proper No 12, confirmed to The Irish Independent on Tuesday that they would no longer include McGregor’s “name and likeness in the marketing of the brand” going forward.
While the whiskey founded by McGregor was sold entirely to Proximo Spirits in 2021, the fighter remained a large part of the brand’s advertising up until recently.
Snapshots of the drink’s official website from earlier this month marketed the whiskey as a product which “pays homage to our founder, Conor McGregor’s, hometown of Crumlin, Dublin 12 and their shared spirit of brotherhood, loyalty, and hard work.” Now-altered social media bios for the product earlier this year billed it as “Irish Whiskey from Conor McGregor.”
Proper No. 12’s official website currently is not accessible.
Promixo’s distancing from McGregor comes amid the whiskey being boycotted by many stores. BWG Foods, a wholesale company which works with 1,000 different stores, confirmed to The Irish Times this week that they had stopped carrying the drink. So has Tesco, a massive supermarket player in the U.K. and Ireland.
Along with the boycott of Proper No. 12, some stores have also discontinued selling Forged Irish Stout, a drink launched last year which prides itself as “Forged in Dublin, Ireland by Conor McGregor.”
Video game studio IO Interactive has also decided to discontinue a collaboration with McGregor from their “Hitman: World of Assassination” video game. In July of this year, the game released a mission which saw McGregor’s likeness portrayed by a character known as “The Disruptor.”
“In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately,” a statement from the company said. “We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr. McGregor from our storefronts starting today.”
McGregor continues to deny the claim that he sexually assaulted the case’s plaintiff, Hand, in a Dublin penthouse six years ago. A recent statement from McGregor once again claimed that he hopes to appeal the civil trial’s ruling.
“As much as I regret it, everything that happened that night was consensual and all the witnesses present swore to that under oath,” McGregor wrote on social media earlier this week. “I have instructed my legal team to appeal the decision. I can’t go back and I will move forward.”
Hand, who spoke about the severe physical and mental damages she has suffered since her 2018 encounter with McGregor, has been praised by many following her successful trial against the UFC fighter.
Ireland’s Justice Minister, Helen McEntee, recently publicly spoke about Hand’s move to challenge McGregor.
“I just want to commend Nikita for her bravery, for her determination and the leadership that she has shown in what has been – I’ve no doubt – a very, very difficult time for her and indeed, for her family,” McEntee said, per RTE.
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, a helpline for victims of sexual abuse in Ireland, told BBC that they have received nearly a doubling of calls following the verdict last week.
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