Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey Drops Founder Conor McGregor Following Sexual Assault Court Verdict

Dee Devlin (left), Conor McGregor’s partner,  leaves the High Court in Dublin after the jury’s verdict on Friday, November 22, in the civil trial against Conor McGregor (center.) McGregor was accused of sexually assaulting a woman named Nikita Hand. (Photo: Press Association via AP Images)

Newsweek reported on Tuesday that Conor McGregor will no longer be the frontman of Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey after he was found liable for a sexual assault that occurred in 2018. McGregor lost the civil case on Friday, according to CNN.

Since then, retailers have made the move to distance themselves from the MMA Star and his Proper No. Twelve brand. Proximo Spirits, the Irish whiskey brand’s parent company, sent a statement to The Irish Independent claiming McGregor’s “name” and “likeness” would no longer be used in Proper No. Twelve’s marketing.

European retailers Tesco, Musgrave, Supervalu and Centra have also decided to remove Proper No. Twelve whiskey from their shelves.

“We can confirm we are removing Proper No 12 from sale in Tesco stores and online,” a spokesperson for Tesco said, according to Newsweek. “Tesco does not stock Forged Irish Stout.”

Forged Irish Stout is another brand owned by McGregor, which was set to hit the shelves in America in October 2023.

According to AP News, the plaintiff Nikita Hand claimed that McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her on Dec. 9, 2018, in a Dublin hotel. Hand had reportedly been partying with McGregor. The jury ruled in Hand’s favor and awarded her €250,000 ($257,000.)

Hand testified that she did not want to have sex with him and told him “no.” She claims McGregor “put her in a chokehold,” according to ABC 7.

“Now you know how I felt in the octagon where I tapped out three times,” Hand claimed McGregor told her before assaulting her.

She claimed McGregor threatened “to kill her” before the assault.

“I remember saying I was sorry, as I felt I did something wrong and I wanted to reassure him that I wouldn’t tell anyone so he wouldn’t hurt me again,” Hand expressed, according to ABC 7.

McGregor went on to sexually assault her, according to Hand’s tearful testimony.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, McGregor expressed remorse for the incident, though he denied raping Hand.

“People want to hear from me, I needed time,” McGregor said on X. “I know I made mistakes. Six years ago, I should have never responded to her outreaches. I should have shut the party down. I should have never stepped out on the woman I love the most in the world. That’s all on me.”

McGregor claimed that “everything that happened that night was consensual” and that “all the witnesses present swore to that under oath.” The MMA star intends to file an appeal.

The photo above of McGregor leaving the courthouse with his long-term partner, Dee Devlin, took the internet by storm and received upwards of 50 million views on X. The image shows Devlin standing by her man, yet many have pointed out her face appears to reflect shock and devastation.

This picture of Conor McGregor and his wife, Dee Devlin, leaving court today after the verdict speaks a thousand words pic.twitter.com/9tlTVQE6hQ

— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) November 22, 2024

The Daily Mail reports that Devlin and McGregor are not married, though McGregor proposed to her in August 2020. The couple share four children and have known each other since they were teenagers.

“Dee worked very hard throughout the years and stuck by me when I had essentially absolutely nothing,” McGregor said, according to the Daily Mail about his fiancée. “I only had a dream that I was telling her.”

McGregor continues to face repercussions after the verdict. He was pulled from the Hitman video game after the ruling, according to MMA Junkie.

In addition to this civil suit, McGregor faces a lawsuit from Artem Lobov, who claimed the idea for Proper No. Twelve was his. The Irish Star reports the lawsuit is set to go to the courts in January 2025.

“Conor needs this case like a hole in the head after losing the sexual assault case,” an insider close to the MMA star said, according to The Irish Star. “The Nikita Hand court hearing cost him his reputation and a quarter of a million quid. This case is not before a jury but could cost him around eight million if he loses.”

McGregor founded Proper No. Twelve in 2018, and the brand has achieved widespread commercial success — despite a mediocre product. In 2021, McGregor sold his majority stake in the brand but stayed on in a smaller role.