Wrestling doesn’t have an incredibly long history of treating women with respect, so in this day and age when something unfortunate happens in that regard, it’s perhaps especially embarrassing because it feels like an old stereotype is being validated, in a time when we’d like to think it’s an exception. On the other hand, misogyny and sexism still run rampant in basically all industries, so the sad truth is that we should probably never be surprised (which is obviously not the same thing as saying that we should never speak out.
To get specific, on Saturday night, Impact star and independent wrestler Scarlett Bordeaux was wrestling for Mexico’s AAA promotion, tagging with Lady Shani and Taya Valkyrie against Chik Tormenta, La Hiedra, and Tessa Blanchard. After landing on the floor and using the barrier to help herself stand up, she was grabbed from behind by a man in the front row, who pulled her towards him until Lady Shani pulled her away. Here’s a GIF of the incident from Twitter:
please do not try to keep the wrestlers pic.twitter.com/f6VtwmToMY
— luchablog (@luchablog) June 16, 2019
Naturally this led to a discussion about appropriate behavior at wrestling shows (although it’s hard to imagine that anybody thought that guy’s behavior was appropriate), and Scarlett offered her own perspective on Twitter:
It is NEVER okay to touch a performer without their consent. I didn’t realize what happened until I watched the footage afterwards being so in the moment after a dive with my back turned otherwise I would have reacted much differently. Thnx to @LadyShaniAAA for having my back https://t.co/2YKT64sKIj
— Scarlett Bordeaux (@Lady_Scarlett13) June 16, 2019
Some misguided folks attempted to make this discussion about how Scarlett dresses or presents herself, and she rightfully pushed back against that:
What I wear is completely irrelevant. Could be a string bikini or a snowsuit, it doesn’t matter. My body is mine and you cannot touch me without my permission. Most fans I encounter are respectful, awesome people and I appreciate you.
— Scarlett Bordeaux (@Lady_Scarlett13) June 17, 2019
Some others have attempted to turn the discussion to where on her body he touched her, but that’s just a diversion. While the incident obviously could have been worse, being that physically familiar with a performer you don’t know is obviously inappropriate regardless, and honestly it didn’t look like he was about to stop touching her if Lady Shani hadn’t helped her get free of the situation. Behavior like that has no place at a wrestling show (or elsewhere), and should lead to the offender getting kicked out at the very least.
