The footage shows a young saleswoman handing out flyers in the street being followed by a man on foot.

All seems completely normal until she turns around to pin the man on the ground with her foot as she accuses him of pestering her in public.

A crowd of bemused onlookers watches as the woman berates the unidentified man on the pavement, telling him she is fed up of being “touched and sexually harassed while just doing her job”.

The alleged assailant pleads for her to stop, claiming he “was out shopping with his wife and has done nothing wrong”.

But as the man protests his innocence, the irate woman shouts: “I’m fed up of being treated like a sex object. Is it boobs you want?”

(Image: FocusON )

Then in a shocking scene the seller rips off her top, exposing her breasts and seconds later straddles the supposed offender.

Bending over her alleged attacker, she slaps him around the face then proceeds to pummel his face with her bare chest.

Some bystanders support her actions and urge her on, while others are outraged.

One woman shouts: “This is absurd, there is no justification for doing this. How can you do this in front of children in the city centre? You’re disrespecting women with your actions.”

Others say the woman is courageous and “this has humiliated and exposed the attacker”.

But the outrageous display – shot in Ribeirao Preto city centre, Brazil – is not all as it seems because the incident was staged by a theatre crew at the end of last year.

The group wanted to highlight the attention that can often turn into sexually explicit and degrading comments, coupled with intimidating approaches to women working in public places.

Fausto Ribeiro, director of the Confluências group, said: “We wanted to expose and address something that happens every day to our sisters and female friends.

“This was meant to challenge people’s perceptions and empower women with the shock tactic of retaliation.

“We wanted to force men to think more responsibly about their actions and the consequences.”

At the time of its posting, the video gained over a million views but was withdrawn after it was heavily criticised.

It has since re-emerged amid the escalating Hollywood sexual abuse scandal.

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The high street company, whose T-shirt the actor was wearing, denied any involvement in the incident.

In a statement the business said: “There was no involvement of any employee or representative in this theatrical action.”