UFC President Dana White seen slapping wife in video released by TMZ
A video released by TMZ shows UFC President Dana White slapping his wife, Anne, while the pair was on vacation last month, The Associated Press reports Wednesday.
In an interview this week with TMZ, White said he was "embarrassed" by the incident. "You've heard me say for years, 'There's never ever an excuse for a guy to put his hands on a woman,' and now here I am on TMZ talking about it," White said. Shares of Endeavor, which owns UFC, fell after the video was shared, CNBC reports.
In the clip, White and his wife can be seen in the VIP area of a Cabo, Mexico, nightclub on New Year's Eve. White says something to Anne, prompting her to slap him in the face. White then slaps his wife back "before the two are quickly separated," ESPN writes.
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"I'm literally making no excuses for this thing at all. It's never happened before," White added in his apology, noting that he's concerned for his three kids and is focused on his family right now. "It's the first time it's ever happened. People are going to say what they're going to say and it is what is. Whatever people say is deserved. I deserve it."
"Dana and I have been married for almost 30 years," White's wife told TMZ in a separate statement. "To say this is out of character for him is an understatement — nothing like this has ever happened before. Unfortunately, we were both drinking too much on New Year's Eve and things got out of control on both sides. We've talked this through as a family and apologized to each other. I just hope people will respect our privacy for the sake of our kids."
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Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.