Australian surfing icon Mick Fanning has lashed out after sickening footage of a female surfer being assaulted went viral.
The ugly incident unfolded in Bali when surfer Sara Taylor and Brazilian Adrian Portela dropped into the same wave in Uluwatu.
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After a heated exchange of words between the pair unfolded on the water, things took a nasty turn when a friend of Portela’s paddled up and punched Taylor in the head.
The ugly scenes continued onto the beach when the man, identified as Brazilian pro surfer João Paulo Azevedo, Portela and their entourage of at least six others, followed Ms Taylor and her friend.
The follow-up attack was caught on camera as Azevedo threw punches and yanked a towel away from Ms Taylor, screaming, “Don’t film me”.
The entourage began to encircle the pair of women, with Ms Taylor yelling for them to “go away” as the clip ends.
Taylor took to Instagram following the incident, explaining she was dropped in on before the men on the beach took issue with being filmed.
“After being dropped in on, on my first wave, the guys friend punched me in the head and then after being confronted about hitting me, he attacked [her friend] Charlie on the beach for filming him. this is insane, does anyone know who they are?” she later posted to Instagram.
Fanning condemned the actions of the men, labelling them “weak humans” while fellow Aussie surfer Felicity Palmateer called it ‘so disgusting and actually terrifying.”
Azevedo was identified after the clip whipped around social media over the weekend, the Brazilian star was promptly dumped by sponsor Quebra Onda.
“After becoming aware of the unfortunate events that have occurred, reiterates that we repudiate all kinds of violence being mainly against women,” a company statement said.
Azevedo told a Brazilian media outlet he thought Ms Taylor was a “man” and that he lost control due to “momentary stress”.
“I didn’t know she was a woman. She surfed like a man, dressed like a man,’ he told Globo.
“She was riding everyone’s wave, she wasn’t respecting anyone. She went with my friend’s wave and pushed my friend out of the loop.
“I went to ask why she had done that to my friend. She went by and threw water in my face, cursed me. And then, I lost my mind due to momentary stress and ended up attacking her. I lost my reason. After I attacked her, I saw that it was a woman. She was wearing a T-shirt, and I couldn’t see her bra. Soon after I apologised, a friend of mine came paddling up, and I said, ‘Calm down, it’s a woman’”.
Portela took to Instagram to explain his side of the story and apologise for the ugly incident.
“I would like to make it clear for everyone what happened 05/04,” he wrote.
“I have not hit our touched anyone. I spoke and acted with anger and disrespect. I’m deeply ashamed and sorry for how I acted.
“I got pushed out of the wave as you can see in the video posted. Unfortunately after that a punch was thrown in the water, however not by me and I was not involved in it happening.
“I continued surfing and noticed a fight between the girl who pushed me out of the wave, her girlfriend and my friend who threw the punch in the water.
“I swam out of the water to see what was happening and not fully understanding what had happened I lost my temper and spoke with disrespect towards the girls and acted in a disgusting way that I’m very ashamed of.
“I have not touched or hit anyone inside or outside the water. The video is not in full and does not show everything that happened.
“My behaviour was wrong and I should not have spoken to the girls the way I did, things got heated and I lost my temper. Nothing will excuse or make that type of behaviour right.
“I have reached out to the girls to apologise and try to make amends. Thank you, and I’m sincerely sorry for what happened.”
– with PerthNow
