Would you endure a slap with an open hand, without moving a millimeter before the impact, knowing that your rival can concentrate all his anger, rage, contempt and testosterone in the attempt? And two? And up to three? Say no, I beg you. Masochism, the righteous. But in the United States everything is possible, and more if there is goose pasta involved. The macabre formula was launched in mid-January as a television program – Power Slap, broadcast by the TBS network – and in just eight episodes it has raised enough blisters to submit it to study before the US Congress. No wonder. Specialized critics do not give credence. They wonder, it is not known if with sarcasm or sincere concern, if the next thing will be live knives between contestants for the amusement of the staff. All for the audience in a nation that has long since lost its roles.

To Dana White, the man behind the grotesque spectacle, the idea seems perfectly legitimate and even more bearable for the participants than other displays of extreme violence such as the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), organization of which he is president. "Imbeciles," he snapped when asked about his many critics, recalling the time when he was coming over for defending mixed martial arts, now booming in the United States. In his program the "athletes" receive "three to five slaps per event", which compared to the "300 or 400 blows" that a boxing fighter takes, is nothing, he reasons. And those who do not want to see it, you know, do not look, says the promoter, who has managed to amass a juicy personal fortune estimated at 500 million dollars.

White explains that the idea came to him watching videos on YouTube with Polish and Russian guys shaking off gloves. "I liked it right away," he said convinced, filming eight episodes in Las Vegas, where many of the UFC's fights are held. In addition, the videos generated traffic in abundance, so he set to work to get approval from the Nevada Athletic Commission. Afterward, TBS gave him the approval to start issuing it.

It has raised enough blisters to be studied by Congress.

It would have seen the light on January 11, but a video of White himself slapping his wife during New Year's celebrations in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, forced the broadcast to be postponed by a week. White apologized for the assault on his wife, blaming alcohol.

The premise of the eight programs that have aired is simple. The opponents play heads or tails who hits first and the one who fits the blow, without moving the least, has 30 seconds to recover from the impact. The first "combat" of the first episode is enough to understand that it is not an easy task. The man who receives the slap immediately goes to the ground and seems to lose consciousness. When he comes to his senses, he doesn't even know where he is, attended by doctors.

Kortney Olson, bodybuilder and owner of a company of her own, also lost consciousness after the blow of her rival, who seeing her in such a state could not help but hug her and start crying. "It was a horrible experience," Olson explained. It will be the last time I participate.

Flood of criticism

White is very serious. It has created up to four divisions per weight and expects the categories to be filled. His idea is to fight to climb positions in the ranking, as in other internationally regulated sports. But so far he has already encountered the first serious problem. TBS announced Tuesday the cancellation of the broadcast after receiving a barrage of criticism. There are many experts who have warned of serious brain damage for those involved. Bennet Omalu, the prestigious Nigerian neuropathologist, does not rule out deaths if they go ahead. He considers it an insult to human intelligence. "It's a very stupid and unsafe sport. It's primitive," he said. Bill Pascrell, a congressman from New Jersey, and Don Bacon, his counterpart from Nebraska, announced in February the creation of a congressional committee to investigate the legality of the program.

It's a very stupid and unsafe sport. It is primitive

Bill Pascrell, Congressman

It is not the first in the annals of American trash TV where violence is the main claim. The figure of Jerry Springer, the undisputed king in that section, immediately comes to mind. His crude display of banality lasted 27 years at the point of fights on the set with issues such as incest, infidelity, jealousy, drugs or outstanding debts in between. A full-fledged freak show.

Its equivalent in Latin American version was commanded by the Peruvian Laura Bozzo, another presenter turned into a mass phenomenon who made her guests pass, knowing that they were going to mess up in a matter of minutes. And therein lay the morbidity of the matter. She presented them with a beauty that became famous over time: "Let the wretched man pass!" she exclaimed, always referring to a cuckolded husband, a spiteful boyfriend or similar specimen who was forced to try to defend his pride in the middle of the set, although he could not even place half a cake before two built-in wardrobes were thrown on him – the swordsmen that Bozzo had at his side. Ready as dogs of prey to throw themselves on their limp captures and restore some order to such a television circus. White has managed to take it to the next level.

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