Vogue Williams has questioned why Conor McGregor continues to attract millions of followers after a civil jury found him liable for assaulting Nikita Hand.
The Irish presenter described the former UFC champion as “grim” during the latest episode of My Therapist Ghosted Me, asking co-host Joanne McNally why so many people still treat him as someone worthy of admiration.
McNally agreed and discussed the hostile responses women receive when they post about McGregor or the civil verdict. She said commenters continue claiming that nothing has been proven or that critics should wait for a trial, even though the civil case concluded and McGregor exhausted his attempts to appeal the verdict.
A High Court jury found in November 2024 that McGregor assaulted Hand at a Dublin hotel in December 2018 and awarded her nearly €250,000 in damages.
Williams Asked Why McGregor Is Still ‘Put on a Pedestal’
“Do you know who is grim and who has so many followers and people that are actually interested in following him? Conor McGregor,” she said, according to Extra.ie. Williams referred to the allegations and court findings against McGregor as “heinous” and said she could not understand whether people outside Ireland remained unaware of the case or were choosing to ignore it.
“I don’t understand if the rest of the world doesn’t actually know that yet or else they’re just pretending that they don’t know it and they’re still continuing to put this man on a pedestal,” she said. “It just makes me so sad that we’re still there in the world that you’d be impressed by somebody like that.”
Joanne McNally Said Women Who Discuss the Case Face Abuse
McNally said women who post about McGregor frequently receive an “onslaught” of hostile responses from both men and women. “When the women post these videos they get this onslaught from men and women saying, ‘He hasn’t been proved guilty yet’ or ‘Wait until the trial,’” she said. “It’s all very strange.”
The High Court trial lasted several weeks before jurors returned their verdict in November 2024. Hand testified that McGregor raped and assaulted her in a penthouse at Dublin’s Beacon Hotel, while McGregor testified that the encounter was consensual. The jury found McGregor liable for assaulting Hand. A second defendant, James Lawrence, was not found liable for assaulting her.
McGregor’s Civil Verdict Survived His Appeals
McGregor challenged the verdict on several grounds, including the wording of the question presented to jurors and the admission of evidence concerning the “no comment” answers he gave during police interviews. He also sought permission to introduce new evidence that purported to provide another explanation for Hand’s injuries. His legal team withdrew that application shortly before the appeal hearing began.
Ireland’s Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal in its entirety on July 31, 2025. The court rejected McGregor’s argument that the jury may have been confused about the allegation it was deciding. The judges agreed that evidence concerning his police interviews should not have been admitted but concluded that repeated instructions from the trial judge had protected against an unfair trial.
McGregor then asked Ireland’s Supreme Court to hear a further appeal. The court refused permission in December 2025, leaving the jury’s verdict and damages award in place. Hand welcomed the Supreme Court decision, saying the civil justice system had allowed her voice to be heard after seven years of seeking accountability.