Michelle Yi, a contestant on TV game show Survivor: Fiji, was stabbed and beaten with a metal bar Thursday outside an exercise studio in Democrat-run Santa Monica, California.
The TV show cast member was accosted after arriving at around 6 a.m. at the pilates studio where she teaches classes. Yi said that a woman who appeared to be homeless confronted her at the door of the studio, Fox News reported.
After a few words between them, Yi says that the woman suddenly attacked her.
“She stabbed me in the left bicep,” says Yi. “And then she hit me on the right hand with the baton,” Yi said noting that the blows shattered her Apple Watch.
Yi, 37, said the woman hit her with the metal baton several times. “My face split open. Blood was everywhere,” Yi reported.
A pilates student said she tried to call 911 but only got a recording that said all lines were busy. However, they were able to flag down a passing police cruiser a short time later.
The Santa Monica Police Department reported that the attacker was still at the scene when the police arrived. The woman was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. The SMPD added that the attacker appeared to have stopped taking her medications.
Yi was treated at a local hospital for non-life threatening injures from which she will make a full recovery.
Th attacker was named as local resident Alexandria Diaz, who was arraigned for the attack on Monday, according to Fox 11.
Yi appeared on the 2006 season of Survivor and became a fan favorite, though she did not win the contest.
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