A well-known acrobat was asked to leave Myrtle Beach recently after a woman reportedly complained about her skimpy bikini.
“Sam Panda, an acrobat who went viral a few years ago when she broke her neck during a performance in Bali when her rig malfunctioned, made waves this time when she wore a thong on a South Carolina beach — where it is illegal,” according to the New York Post.
Myrtle Beach police said they were initially called about two women wearing thongs and a see-through top who were “dancing and soliciting videos on the beach,” the report noted.
When officers arrived to advise them of the ordinance, one of them “attempted to walk away from officers and was detained.”
Viral video footage of the incident showed Panda being handcuffed as a man filmed the incident:
“I literally wear this to the beach every day,” Panda told the officer after he put her in handcuffs.
Once the group walked over to the police vehicles, an officer produced the ordinance pertaining to beachwear.
“It shall be unlawful for any person to appear in the nude on any public beach, beach access to the public waters, or any public property in the view of the public,” the officer read.
However, Panda claimed she was not nude because she was wearing a thong.
“Okay, you’re in a thong,” the officer holding her arm replied.
“A thong is not nude!” she told him.
According to the Myrtle Beach laws and information website, swimwear was “subject to city ordinances in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Surfside Beach.”
“It is illegal for anyone to wear a thong bathing suit,” the site noted.
Once an officer explained the ordinance, Panda complied and was allowed to leave the beach, according to the Post.
In a Facebook post, the acrobat reportedly said the woman who complained “should be absolutely ashamed” of herself.
Panda wrote:
You have allowed a 105 pound woman to get rushed, aggressively grabbed, manhandled, and cuffed. You allowed two women to be slut shamed publicly on a beach for their bathing suits. And worst of all, you showed your daughter that her body is something she should be ashamed of and could be detained for.
“You showed her that a man can harm a woman over the way her body is viewed by other people. You have objectified a female body that does not belong to you and have showed your daughter that those actions are acceptable,” she concluded.