CAPE TOWN – Former world champion bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger was shockingly drop-kicked from behind while admiring athletes at his sports festival in South Africa on Saturday night.
The 71-year-old actor and former California governor is currently in Sandton, South Africa, for the Arnold Classic Africa competition, a multi-sport event held in Johannesburg each May.
He was attacked when greeting fans at the Sandton Convention Centre.
https://twitter.com/Schwarzenegger/status/1129805366513025028
A video shows Schwarzenegger on the sidelines filming a rope-skipping competition on a phone. As he turns back around to hand the phone over, a man runs from behind and jump-kicks Schwarzenegger in the back.
Security quickly grabbed the man and took him away. A few moments later, a person can be heard repeatedly shouting, “Help me! I need a Lamborghini!”
The Terminator star shrugged off that attack, writing on Twitter later that he hadn’t even noticed he had been kicked.
He joked: “Thanks for your concerns, but there is nothing to worry about.
“I thought I was just jostled by the crowd, which happens a lot.
“I only realized I was kicked when I saw the video like all of you.
“I’m just glad the idiot didn’t interrupt my Snapchat.”
Thanks for your concerns, but there is nothing to worry about. I thought I was just jostled by the crowd, which happens a lot. I only realized I was kicked when I saw the video like all of you. I’m just glad the idiot didn’t interrupt my Snapchat.
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) May 18, 2019
A statement from the event organisers said he was “sadly and unexpectedly attacked by a crazed fan” after they had “breached security”.
It added: “Sandton Convention Centre security responded swiftly by apprehending the offender and handing him over to police.”
