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26th Nov 2024

Conor McGregor loses over 100,000 followers after Nikita Hand case

JOE

At the time of writing, McGregor has lost around 105,000 Instagram followers.

Thousands upon thousands of people have decided to unfollow Conor McGregor over the last few days following Nikita Hand’s case against the disgraced MMA fighter.

On Friday afternoon, Nikita Hand won her civil assault claim against Conor McGregor after the DPP chose not to prosecute McGregor in a criminal trial.

Hand sued the MMA fighter for damages after accusing him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018.

The jury at the court found that McGregor raped Hand in the hotel room.

Hand sued McGregor for damages and won her case against him. McGregor was subsequently ordered to pay more than €248,000 in damages.

According to figures taken from InsTrack, following the verdict on Friday McGregor lost 4,191 Instagram followers.

The following day this dropped by a further 33,958 and an additional 42,719 the day after.

At the time of writing it’s believed McGregor has lost around 105,000 followers.

One post which went viral about McGregor came via reportd.ie, a charity which allows people to report sexual harassment anonymously.

In a post they shared, they examined the importance of unfollowing a figure such as Conor McGregor, as with less followers, he’s less likely to make as much money from sponsored content on Instagram.

They wrote: ‘Publicly supporting people who have committed acts of sexual violence or harassment is a form of acceptance. Taking the small step of unfollowing perpetrators like Conor McGregor actively shows that you don’t support this behaviour.

“It also challenges us to think about how we see public figures and the portrayal of sexual abuse crimes in the media.

“Continuing to follow McGregor also means financially supporting him; it’s estimated that McGregor makes over €100,000 per sponsored Instagram post. Without engaged followers this protected number will dwindle. Go check if you follow him, so you can unfollow him.”

Responding to the post, McGregor himself commented: “Followed 😂.”

For those who wish to share their stories but to remain anonymous, DRCC’s We-Consent campaign has created a survivor story-sharing platform, WeSpeak.ie,  that allows people to share their stories safely and securely, in their own time. 

The 24-hour National Helpline 1800 778888 provides free, confidential, and non-judgmental support after sexual violence at any time.

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