A gay man and a drag queen have been subjected to homophobic abuse on London’s public underground.
Ryan Mahon claims to have intervened in a verbal attack against a drag queen on New Year’s morning at 5am, which he videoed and uploaded to his Facebook page.
The video shows part of the confrontation, alongside a description of the incident.
“On the way home I witnessed an absolute idiot shouting abuse at a drag queen on the tube,” he wrote. “I then made the heinous crime of sticking up for her and this video shows what happened.” He added that “this is the first time in the 5 years since I came out that I’ve had to deal face-to-face with such homophobic behaviour. However, it’s sickening to think that this kind of abuse still happens in today’s society when there is no place nor any need for it.”.
The video shows a passenger on the tube showering Mahon with a tirade of homophobic insults and called him a ‘p***k’, and a f***ing nasty germ’, before launching into graphic descriptions of gay sex.
A British Transport Police spokesman said: ‘We have been made aware of a video on social media which appears to show a man making homophobic comments and threats of violence towards passengers on a London Tube train.
“Officers are viewing the footage and making inquiries to establish the full circumstances of the incident and when and where it took place.
“This is completely unacceptable behaviour.”
They are asking anyone who recognises the man involved to contact BTP on 0800 405040, or text 61016, quoting reference 146 of 2/1/2016.
