The story of Courtney Love punching riot grrrl icon Kathleen Hanna isn't new, but the latter has shared more about the "cold clock" in her new memoir, Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk.
The incident supposedly happened backstage at Lollapalooza 1995, which had Hole on the bill, while Hanna was there as a guest of Sonic Youth. It was also just months after Kurt Cobain's death, whom Hanna claims to have been good friends with — as she apparently influenced the title of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Despite this, Love has called Hanna Cobain's "worst enemy in the world," despite the evidence to the contrary. Needless to say, tensions were high on Love's end.
"I saw Courtney Love walking toward me throwing candy from a basket. She was flanked by two large dudes and she seemed wasted," Hanna wrote. "My instincts told me not to make eye contact with her. Courtney got in my face and started hissing like a cat and reaching out like she was going to claw me. She began screaming stuff at me like 'Bye bye! Are you leaving now Kathleen? Go home and feed the poor.'"
She continued: "Then she dropped a sweater in front of me and bent down to grab it. As she stood up, she cold clocked me in the face. I fell down, put my hands up to my cheek, and felt blood. From the ground, I yelled, 'I will debate you at the college of your choice!' Courtney yelled back something like, 'You can't even read, and I'm way more feminist than you!"
Rebel Girl isn't the only thing keeping the spirit of riot grrrl alive — Bikini Kill will embark on yet another tour later this summer. In the meantime, revisit our review of their show in Toronto last year.