Farrah Abraham’s boxing replacement named, ticket site now says ‘Fighters subject to change’
The celebrity boxing match featuring Farrah Abraham will apparently go on, even without Farrah Abraham. Just two days after it was announced that Farrah was pulling out of the highly-touted bout due to contractual issues, Celebrity Boxing has announced that Farrah will be replaced in the ring by recurring Mob Wives Season 5 cast member Natalie DiDonato. Tickets are still available with the revised billing, although the event’s description has been updated to warn that there will be no refunds and “Fighters subject to change.”
“Natalie D from Mob Wives is stepping [up] to take on Hoops [sic] in the main event of [the] celebrity boxing show down as Drita from Mob Wives will be the referee,” promoter Damon Feldman announced on Facebook. “It’s going to be a great event. I want to thank everyone at the Showboat for being patient here.”
The promotional posters for the event have been modified to include Natalie instead of Farrah, and the ticket purchase page on upcomingevents.com also reflects the new bill. In addition to changing the names for the fight, the ticket pge also changed the description to include the potential fighter change caveat, as well as a “No Refunds” disclaimer.
Here are before-and-after photos:
The $19.99 pay-per-view listing for the boxing match on FITE still lists Farrah on the bill. However, their terms of service clearly indicate that refunds will be issued if the event is canceled or if “the Content was misleading – the description didn’t relate to actual content of the video.”
UPDATE – The pay-per-view listing has been updated and now lists Hoopz vs. Nat D. However, the poster for the event is still the one with Farrah.
As we previously reported, the terms of service for Upcoming Events seems to indicate that they are not the ones responsible for refunds stemming from issues beyond their control, and the site says refund requests should be sent to Celebrity Boxing. Meanwhile, the Celebrity Boxing Instagram account run by Damon Feldman had this response to a commenter inquiring about a refund:
I assume that we will have an official statement about ticket refund inquiries soon, and we will update when we do.
UPDATE – And here it is! Well, sort of. What a mess.
Farrah Abraham and her dad Michael Abraham called out event organizers for not revealing which anti-bullying charity would be benefiting from the fight, or how much of the profits they would be receiving. Damon responded on Facebook with what I believe is the first time any specific anti-bullying organization has been named in association with the celebrity boxing match, Teach Anti-Bullying:
I started from the bottom in my career and made a commitment here to do my Final Celebrity Boxing match this Saturday night, then its off to get my Movie…
Teach Anti Bullying started from the bottom Claudio V. Cerullo and Daniela Desiderio Cerullo and have built what they are trying to do step by step NO ONE gave them anything.. I do not want my children to ever be Bullied and I am sure you don’t either . I admire what they are doing and I’m not taking this platform away from them because a woman used my platform ,To make money and now pulled out…I am NOT quitting on this event saturday cause I want to give them a platform.
Damon isn’t the only one using the event’s anti-bullying platform as a weapon. Here is part of what Farrah had to say to Hollywood Life about pulling out of the event:
Damon has been threatening my career and threatening lawsuits when he is not delivering on his end. Upon him making a mockery of the anti bully match, and by he himself acting like a bully and being found guilty and having been to jail for beating up his girlfriend, this promoter has lied about buying the flights & will not provide me any security. Threatening me is a bullying action, having Drita as referee is again making a joke of an anti bullying match. As a mother, I stand firm and I will not tolerate illegal, unsafe, or bullying behavior, the promoters and all associated are in breach on their part.
Event organizer Samantha Goldberg used anti-bullying to strike back at Farrah on Facebook:
For those whom have asked about the fight #CelebrityBoxing #FarrahAbraham vs #NicoleHoopzAlexander yes, she has gone to tabloids yes claims show did not do what was contracted i am a valuable source in saying #BULLSH*T this is supposed to be about #Antibullying and #Farrah is completely going against the cause she claims to support! #Goodluck #Last16MinutesofFame #showUp Do what you claimed you support! w/ Damon Feldman
Nicole “Hoopz” Alexander posted about the event with an emphasis on “the cause:”
Farrah’s replacement Natalie is doing her best to promote the new bill as well:
Event organizers have stated that they plan to sue Farrah Abraham for millions, so I’m guessing the courts may eventually decide who was really at fault here. Regardless, the end result is a complete clusterf**k.
Say what you will about Farrah, but she was undoubtedly the centerpiece of this event, and without her, I simply cannot see ticket buyers not being justified in asking for a refund. There’s just no way that anyone could successfully argue in front of a judge or a jury that it is rational to think that people would pay $20, $45, or $75 to see Natalie DiDonato box Hoopz — I don’t care how many D-list undercards there are.
I am already pre-cringing at the video of the audience (or lack thereof) at the event Saturday night.
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
