A topless woman fought back when someone groped her at a music festival in New Zealand. Now she’s responding to people saying she was asking for it.
A topless woman fought back when someone groped her at a music festival in New Zealand. And now that woman is responding to people saying she was asking for it.
20-year-old Madeline Anello-Kitzmiller was at the Rhythm and Vines Festival in Gisbourne, New Zealand when a man came up behind her to grab her chest before running back to his friends.
Immediately, Madeline and her friend made a beeline to him. Her friend threw her drink in his face, and Madeline threw several punches at his head. The whole thing was caught on camera.
So, the controversy here is that Madeline was showing off some rad glitter boobs art. The trend recently took off in June when music festivals began offering booths where you could pay to get your boobs bedazzled. Artist Sophie Tea partnered with glitter makeup company The Gypsy Shrine to do glitter boob transformations on festival attendees at various events.
So, maybe you’re wondering, "are glitter boobs legal? Can Madeline walk around without a top like that?" Short answer — yes. Especially because she technically has her nipples covered. Long, boring answer — in New Zealand there are no specific laws on being naked in public at all.
The video went viral, which caused both an outpouring of love, but also hate.
Madeline took to her personal Facebook page to respond to the criticism she was receiving, and finished the video by saying — "The glitter tits will be coming back."
The Rhythm and Vine Festival said of the incident — "We do not condone any form of harassment and take these issues very seriously. We will continue developing our ideas on how to create a safer and more enjoyable environment for our customers."
And, this incident comes just one day after a 32-year-old man was arrested for groping a 19-year-old’s breast in a mosh pit at the Falls Festival in Australia. That was reportedly the third report of sexual assault for the entire festival.
This is clearly a problem, but hey — here’s a wacky idea. Don’t grope anyone. Don’t sexually assault anyone. Don’t think that what someone is wearing gives you permission to do whatever you want to them.
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