Conor McGregor no longer face of Proper No. Twelve, product pulled from major Irish retailers in wake of sexual assault case

Conor McGregor is getting hit where it hurts.

This past Friday in Dublin, Ireland, McGregor was found liable for a 2018 sexual assault by a High Court jury. He has been ordered to pay the victim Nikita Hand over $250,000 in damages and the verdict has also done significant damage to the UFC star’s brand.

Irish news site independent.ie reported Tuesday that Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey owners Proximo Spirits are cutting ties with McGregor, who has been the face of the brand since its inception in 2018. McGregor and partners sold the whiskey brand to Proximo Spirits in 2021, but McGregor remained its most prominent spokesperson, even managing to secure a sponsorship deal with UFC as part of his most recent contract.

“Since 2021, Proximo Spirits has been the 100 percent owner of Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey,” Proximo Spirits announced. “Going forward, we do not plan to use Mr. McGregor’s name and likeness in the marketing of the brand.”

The announcement came shortly after multiple Irish outlets reported that McGregor’s associated alcohol brands, Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey and Forged Irish Stout, will no longer be sold by several major retailers in the wake of the verdict. This includes Tesco, SuperValu, Centra, Costcutter and Carry Out, according to The Irish Times.

Though none of the retailers publicly stated that their decision is directly tied to Hand successfully winning her civil case, The Barry Group (responsible for Costcutter and Carry Out operations) told The Irish Times, “This action reflects our commitment to maintaining a retail environment that resonates with the values of our customers and partners.”

It is also not known if these retailers were influenced by a call-to-action from Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI), who implored businesses to drop McGregor’s whiskey and stout products after Friday’s verdict was made public.

“The companies making money from his alcohol and other products need to look at whether they want to align themselves with a man found by a civil jury to have sexually assaulted a woman,” RCNI Executive Director Clíona Saidléar said, according to Irish Independent.

“They need to stop promoting him and distance themselves... €250,000 won’t dent his finances, but the public can play a role here in expressing disapproval for anyone that tries [to] make money with a man who engaged in that despicable behavior.”

The aforementioned companies aren’t the only ones distancing themselves from McGregor. On Monday, video game publisher IO Interactive announced it was in the process of removing McGregor from its Hitman: World of Assassination release. McGregor was featured as an adversary for the game’s protagonist, Agent 47.