Drag star The Vivienne has been subjected to a homophobic attack in a branch of McDonald's. A man has been arrested after the Ru-Paul's Drag Race winner was attacked in a branch of the fast food chain in Edge Lane, Liverpool.
The 31-year-old took to Twitter to share details of her nightmare ordeal, reports the Liverpool Echo.
She said: "Just been attacked in McDonald’s, police on way. Homophobia alive and well folks! First time I’ve never retaliated in a fight because I’m not gonna punch somebody in front of kids and women."
The Dancing on Ice contestant later added: "Huge thank you to the fantastic staff at @McDonaldsUK Edge Lane who acted fast and removed the idiot from the premises and did everything in their power to make sure I was ok and waited for police with me."
Merseyside Police has confirmed a man has been arrested on suspicion of s47 assault and is currently in custody. Detective Inspector Alan Nuttall said: “Enquiries are in the very early stages. This was a shocking attack which happened in broad daylight in what would have been a busy venue.
“There is no place for hate crime in our city and Merseyside Police has a zero tolerance approach to these incidents. I would ask anyone who has information about this incident to contact us either directly or via Crimestoppers.
“Merseyside Police is committed to tackling hate crime across our communities. We would encourage all victims of hate crime to come forward as we have officers and staff dedicated to protecting victims who will make sure you are supported at every step as sensitively as possible."
Anyone with information is asked to contact @MerPolCC on Twitter or ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook with the reference log 514 of June 16. You can also call 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.
If, for any reason, you do not wish to report a hate crime to the police, the independent charity Stop Hate UK to run a 24/7 confidential helpline for all victims of hate crime on 0800 138 1625 or www.stophateuk.org. You can also download the Stop Hate UK reporting app on Google Play or the Apple App Store.
