Woman who went viral for stabbing her hairdresser over a bad haircut was arrested in UK for 'stripping off and assaulting police'

Published: 08:47, 12 May 2026 | Updated: 08:51, 12 May 2026 A woman who went viral for stabbing a Brazilian hairdresser for giving her a bad haircut was arrested in the UK last year after allegedly taking her clothes off in a bar and assaulting police. Footage of the horror moment Laís Gabriela Barbosa da Cunha took out a kitchen knife from her handbag and plunged it into Eduardo Ferrari's back in Sao Paulo after complaining he had ruined her fringe went viral last week. The 27-year-old was arrested on suspicion of wounding and threats after being overpowered by salon staff following the stabbing. The victim's lawyer has however said after they would press for attempted homicide charges and accused her of using a homophobic slur before the stabbing. Overnight, Brazilian press outed Lais as the protagonist of a bizarre incident in a UK bar last year which ended with her detained under Section 2 of the Mental Health Act. According to a document obtained by Brazilian news outlet G1 from regional affiliate EPTV regarding an incident in Britain, the individual was: 'Admitted under section 2, and it was a second admission, the first of which had a similar presentation. 'These admissions are suspected to be substance-related. She had an acute psychotic relapse with chaotic presentation and aggression, posing a risk to herself and others. '[She] became agitated in a bar, took her clothes off and assaulted police.' The wounded hairstylist jumped forward in pain as staff and security rushed to restrain Lais It was not immediately clear how the document had been obtained, but Lais' defence lawyers are expected to use it to allege her actions last week were the result of mental health issues. The CCTV footage of the May 5 attack at the hair salon in the Sao Paulo neighbourhood of Barra Funda showed Lais standing beside stylist Eduardo Ferrari as he worked on another client's hair. With his back turned, she pulls a knife from her handbag and stabs him between the shoulder blades. Two men immediately spring into action and restrain Da Cunha as Ferrari spins around in shock. After realising what had happened, he ran towards the exit in panic. Separate footage shows Da Cunha being restrained by security guards, with other hairdressers seen approaching her and hitting her. She was subsequently filmed complaining as she was held by staff awaiting the arrival of police. The woman referenced a troublemaker famous for his spiky hair called Cebolinha who was one of the main protagonists of a massive Brazilian comic book series and media franchise created in the 1960s. She said: 'He grabbed my hair and started chopping it up with thinning shears. 'If you can see it, my fringe looks like Cebolinha's, because he cut all my hair. I sent them a WhatsApp message and they didn't reply to me for two days.' She admitted in the same video to using a homophobic slur. The stab victim subsequently explained on a company Instagram the arrested woman had returned a month after her hair treatment to demand her money back saying she was unhappy with the result. She reached into her bag as he appeared to be talking to her with his back turned and plunged the knife into his upper back near his shoulder blades He said she had turned aggressive after the hair salon declined to reimburse her. The salon said: 'Our view is that what happened was a serious attempted homicide. 'Eduardo is deeply shaken as a result of what happened but fortunately he is okay and out of danger. 'We would like to reiterate that he always conducts his work with professionalism, zeal and respect for his clients.' Ferrari later underwent an examination, which found the wound to be superficial.  It is not clear whether the woman held last week ever faced prosecution over the UK bar incident. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.