A bar in Wan Chai which has been named as the meeting point for a local meetup organised by a misogynistic group has spoken out against the event, stating that they had been unaware of the event and will be seeking legal advice from their company’s lawyers.

Return of Kings, a blog describing itself as “neomasculinist”, has organised an international meetup day on February 6, during which there will be 165 meetings in 43 countries. Hong Kong followers of the blog wishing to join the meeting have been instructed to wait in front of Joe Bananas Bar in Wan Chai between 8pm to 8:20pm, after which they will be led by hosts to an unknown meeting place.

Roosh Valizadeh. Photo: Facebook.

The blog was founded by American pickup artist Roosh Valizadeh and has published a plethora of articles attacking women. Valizadeh has also written a post in which he proposed that the way to stop rape was by “mak[ing] rape legal if done on private property”. His supporters have claimed that it was satirical.

“We were not aware of the event – we only found out about it this afternoon. It came as a surprise to us,” Mr Rai, managing director of Joe Bananas, told HKFP. “We’ll consult soon with our board of directors, seek legal advice from company lawyers and make a collective decision soon as to what to do about this,” Rai said. Rai also said that no consent was given by the bar and that they intend to ask the group to pick a new location.

Joe Bananas in Wan Chai.

“The reason why the Joe Bananas name is there is because it’s the only bar in Wan Chai that the taxi driver knows – it’s a landmark,” Law, a director of the bar, added. “Joe Bananas is intended to be like an oasis in Wan Chai – it’s unfortunate that it’s been associated with what this guy proposed.”

Hong Kong netizens outraged

Meanwhile, netizens have expressed outrage at the idea that such an event will be taking place in Hong Kong.

“How about all [Hong Kong] men say no and don’t show up. Maybe he’ll understand what no means, then… And if all the disruptive feminists who show up are men, so much the better,” said one HKFP reader.

The reader was referring to Valizadeh’s earlier comments, whereby he asked supporters to take videos of feminists intending to disrupt the event and send them to his email address, so that he can “tear them up” afterwards.

“[Hong Kong]

‘Large protests by hairy-legged feminists’

The mayor of the Town of Cottesloe in Perth, Australia has stated that the blog and their supporters are not welcome, while deputy leader of Glasgow City Council David McDonald also said that he will be writing to the Council and the police. Feminist groups across Australia and New Zealand – including a group of New Zealand men – have said that they intend to protest the meetings.

Valizadeh has since published a new post drawing attention to what he called a “worldwide effort” to shut down the meetings. “Large protests have been planned in Brisbane, Sydney, and Reykjavik by hairy-legged feminists and their beta orbiters. Multiple politicians have denounced me and I will likely be banned from Australia.”

https://twitter.com/rooshv/status/694062540372967424

“Not a single meetup will be cancelled,” Valizadeh said. “We will not be intimidated by the actions of the lying media and leftist political establishment.”