A Brazilian pro surfer has been filmed brutally hitting an American woman in the head multiple times after she collided with his friend during a wave in Indonesia.
American Sara Taylor and Brazil’s Adriano Portela were both surfing in Uluwatu, southwest Bali, on Wednesday when they caught the same wave at the same time.
Both thought they had the right of way and a brief skirmish broke out when the pair crashed into each other as they mounted their boards before Portela jumped and left the wave to Mrs. Taylor.
But outraged on behalf of his mate Portela, professional surfer João Paulo ‘JP’ Azevedo was unwilling to let the past go by for good and instead launched a violent attack against the female surfer.
Footage posted online shows Azevedo paddling up to Ms Taylor and punching her in the back of the head as she swam back to the surf line.
Azevedo, Portela and their entourage pursued Sara and her British friend Charlie McCharg when they were all back on land to continue their attack.
American Sara Taylor (pictured) was attacked in Bali on Wednesday by Brazilian surfer João Paulo ‘JP’ Azevedo
“Don’t film me!” Azevedo screams, before appearing to throw his fist in Sara’s face and then pull her towel from her shoulder.
The group of eight men can then be seen surrounding the women, one of whom appears to be kicking Mrs. McCharg’s motorbike and pushing Mrs. Taylor.
Ms. Taylor can be heard yelling “go away” to the men before the clip ends.
The video of the savage attack has gone viral and outraged the surfing community – with big names including 11-time World Surf League champion Kelly Slater and Australian pro surfer Felicity Palmateer condemning the men’s ‘disgusting’ behaviour. .
“This is so disgusting and actually terrifying,” Palmateer wrote.
‘I hope you’re well. Get these guys out of the country as soon as possible!’
Kelly Slater tagged friends who live in Bali in his post, writing, “Do you guys know these guys? What is going on?’
‘Get this man [Azevedo] sent home where he belongs.’
Footage shows João Paulo ‘JP’ Azevedo paddling up to Ms Taylor and punching her in the back of the head
His attack continued on the coast as he yelled at the American women and demanded they stop filming him
Brazilian professional surfer Filipe Toledo apologized and sent his best wishes to Sara and Charlie.
“I’m sorry that happened to you!” said Toledo.
‘Hope you’re doing well! No stress in people with this kind of energy! They don’t last long, life will come back!’
The identities of Azevedo and Portela were unknown when the video was first published, but the pair were soon exposed as the men in the vision by internet sleuths.
Although he has not competed in the World Surf League, Azevedo is a star surfer in Brazil and has won titles in the national Espírito Santo competition in the beginner, children, junior and professional categories.
He was invited to Indonesia in 2019 to make a surf documentary and despite filming being delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he fell in love with the area and moved for good.
On Thursday, Azevedo’s sponsor Quebra Onda announced they would dump him as a result of the incident.
“After becoming aware of the unfortunate events that have taken place, the company reiterates that we reject all forms of violence against women,” the brand said in a statement.
Azevedo, who lives in Bali with his wife and child, has since been dumped by his sponsor
A group of angry men were filmed surrounding and intimidating the women as they tried to leave the beach
“Because this kind of behavior is unacceptable, we inform you that we have taken the immediate decision to end our collaboration with the athlete JP Azevedo.”
Azevedo – who has more than 2,000 fans online – has shut down his Instagram account in the wake of his viral disgrace.
However, speaking to a Brazilian media outlet on Thursday, Azevedo claimed he hit Ms Taylor because she looked like a man.
“I didn’t know she was a woman. She surfed like a man, dressed like a man,” he told Globo.
“She rode everyone’s wave, she respected no one. She went with my friend’s wave and pushed my friend out of the loop.
“I went to ask why she did that to my girlfriend. She went by and threw water in my face, cursed me. And then I lost my mind due to momentary stress and finally attacked her. I lost my mind. After attacking her, I saw that it was a woman. She was wearing a T-shirt and I couldn’t see her bra. Shortly after I apologized, a friend of mine came up paddle boarding and I said, ‘Take it easy, it’s a woman’”.
In a video later posted to YouTube, Azevedo said he was “deeply sorry and ashamed” of what had happened, but claimed he was the real victim.
He said the video posted online did not show the full story and that its publication “put me in a dangerous position.”
“I saw a surfer push my friend and went to ask [them] Why [they did it] and got punched in the face and then I retaliated,” he claimed.
Then I realized it was a woman. Then I stepped out of the sea to apologize.
“They took my board in the car.. I went to get my board back while defending myself against attacks.. And in between attacks I also attacked.”
Meanwhile, Portela took to his social media on Thursday to issue a lengthy statement apologizing for the ordeal.
“I would like to make it clear to everyone what happened,” he began.
“I didn’t hit or touch anyone. I spoke and acted with anger and disrespect.
“I am deeply ashamed and sorry for how I behaved.”
While Sara said in a post online that Portela “came in” on her wave, Portela claimed he was the one who was “pushed out” — but said he was just yelling and not physically assaulting the women.
Surfing legend Kelly Slater was among those calling for Azevedo to be evicted after punching Ms Taylor
Fellow surfers – including Mick Fanning, comedian Ivy Miller and Othmane Chouf – weighed in on the incident
Former former British surfing champion Laura Crane slammed the men for attacking Ms. Taylor
“Unfortunately, a punch was thrown in the water after that, but not by me and I wasn’t involved,” he said.
“I continued surfing and saw a fight between the girl who pushed me out of the wave, her friend and my friend who threw the punch in the water.
“I swam out of the water to see what was happening and didn’t quite understand what had happened. I lost my temper and spoke disrespectfully to the girls and behaved in a disgusting manner that I am very ashamed of.”
Portela said he has never assaulted anyone and the video “doesn’t show everything that happened.”
However, he said he accepted his behavior was wrong and there was “no excuse” for the way he spoke to the women.
“I have reached out to the girls to apologize and make amends,” he said.
“Thank you and I’m really sorry about what happened.”
A Bali police spokesman confirmed to local media outlet Coconuts that Ms. Taylor and Ms. McCharg had reported the matter to South Kuta police.
‘[Taylor] suffered bruises on the back of her head and felt sick,” spokesman Stefanus Satake Bayu Setianto said.
‘[McCharg] got bruises on her legs.’
Bayu said that both Portela and Azevedo live in Uluwatu and the matter will be investigated by Bali’s water police.