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Surfers all over the world became familiar with the name JP Azevedo this week when footage surfaced of the Brazilian surfer attacking Sara Taylor in Bali. Taylor says she confronted Azevedo back on land for hitting her in the water, which is when he attacked her filmer too. She posted the footage online asking, “does anyone know who they are?” and internet sleuths quickly identified both Azevedo and Adriano Portela in the video.
The viral video spread fast and now Carol Braga, who says she’s an ex-girlfriend of Azevedo, has come forward alleging this isn’t the first time he’s assaulted a woman. In a post shared Thursday on Instagram, Braga says she heard the news about the Bali incident with Taylor, and admits she was shocked, but it motivated her to speak up about her own experience with Azevedo.
Her statement, translated from Portuguese, reads:
I dated JP Azevedo in 2018 and 2019. We broke up when he strongly assaulted me. I ended up in a hospital with head trauma. I was so ashamed of everything and especially (for) my daughter that I love so much. (…) Anyway, I ended up isolating myself for almost three months in a guesthouse in Rio, until the physical marks came out. But those of the heart… those still last. Very difficult all this .. because I loved him …
Today, after such news, I decided to speak out and expose myself. I don’t know if I’m doing it right. Forgive me (daughter) if you don’t like it.
I wish more peace in the world.
Many professional surfers including Kelly Slater, Filipe Toledo, Gabriel Medina, and Tatiana Weston-Webb commented on Braga’s post.
At least one of Azevedo’s sponsors publicly announced it was cutting ties with him since footage of the fight emerged. Azevedo disappeared from social media but claimed in a statement to the media that he didn’t know Taylor was a woman when he attacked her and that he “lost (his) head in momentary stress.”
“Soon after I apologized, a friend of mine came paddling up and I said: ‘calm down, it’s a woman,'” he says. It’s worth pointing out that while Azevedo is implying he only hit Taylor thinking she was a man, and another surfer told him otherwise in the water, video still shows Azevedo attacking her on land afterward.
