Ronda Rousey is clarifying controversial comments from her autobiography, in which she revealed she hit an ex-boyfriend during an encounter—what some claim constitutes domestic violence.
Speaking at the UFC 193 media day Friday, per ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne, Rousey claimed her ex-boyfriend was preventing her from leaving an apartment when the situation escalated:
I was in that situation before when I was in a movie theater and my exit was blocked, people wouldn’t let me out. You legally cannot do that. It’s considered a self-defense scenario.
So if someone is blocking you into an apartment and won’t let you leave, you’re entitled to defend yourself and find a way out. If you’re trying to get into your car and leave and they’re grabbing your steering wheel and saying you can’t leave, technically you’re being kidnapped, and you can defend yourself in any way that is necessary.
The incident in question was described in Rousey’s autobiography, which was released earlier this year. Per Nancy Armour of USA Today, the book claims an ex-boyfriend had nude photos of her that she was concerned would be leaked publicly.
“I slapped him across the face so hard my hand hurt,” Rousey wrote.
According to Armour, her ex-boyfriend allegedly did not “respond physically” but prevented her from leaving the apartment by blocking the door.
Rousey wrote:
I punched him in the face with a straight right, then a left hook. He staggered back and fell against the door. … I slapped him with my right hand. He still wouldn’t move. Then I grabbed him by the neck of his hoodie, kneed him in the face and tossed him aside on the kitchen floor.
Armour, meanwhile, questioned why she seemed to be getting a pass on domestic violence, writing:
Is it because she’s attractive and has become a marketing gold mine? Ask any domestic violence expert, and they’ll tell you looks and economic status are irrelevant in abuse cases. Abusers come in every shape, size, color and socioeconomic status.
Or is it because she’s a woman?
Shelburne wrote in her piece that Rousey communicated with her lawyers about the situation “and that it could have been considered kidnapping.”
Kim Pentico of the National Network to End Domestic Violence told Eric Adelson of Yahoo Sports that she didn’t have enough information to describe the situation as a domestic violence incident.
“I’m not comfortable with her behavior,” said Pentico. “What I am absolutely not willing to say is she’s committed domestic violence without speaking with him and learning more about that relationship.”
Rousey is set to take on Holly Holm in the main event of Saturday night’s pay-per-view.
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