Drag artist attacked for holding husband’s hand and told: ‘I’ll put you in a wheelchair’
A drag artist punched by teenagers for holding hands with his husband was told by his attackers: ‘I’ll put you in a wheelchair for life.’
George, 25, and Jason Sullovan, 27, were leaving Boom Battle Bar in Bournemouth Monday night and did something they hadn’t done in years
They held hands.
The couple, both drag performers who say they’ve ‘spent their lives entertaining people’, have a good reason to feel hesitant about hand-holding.
‘The last time we did we got s**t for it as well – verbal abuse – so we hadn’t held hands for three years,’ George, who runs The Absolutely Dragulous Show, told Metro.co.uk.
‘So we thought, you know what, let’s hold hands. What could happen?’
But a group of teenagers – four boys and two girls that George estimated to be aged between 17 and 18 – began hurling homophobic abuse at them.
‘I turned around and said, “there’s nothing wrong with holding my husband’s hand, there’s nothing wrong with being gay”. At that point, one of the boys ran up to my husband and pushed him to the floor,’ George said.
‘We were trying to get back into the venue. I was more worried about the fact my husband dislocated his knee and has been in recovery for over a month. It’s taken so long to get to where he is now.’
George begged Jason’s assailant to stop, stressing he had only recently come out of a wheelchair.
‘He said, “I’m going to put him in a wheelchair for life.”‘
‘I didn’t want to lose my husband,’ George added, as he managed to phone 999 at around 9:50am and get back inside the bar, Dorset Police said.
But the teens hovered around Boom Battle Bar for several minutes even as George stood outside the bar and shouted: ‘Go home, go home.’
As a staff member stood outside speaking with officers, ‘two of them ran back and pushed the (bar staffer) out of the way, pushed their way through the doors of the venue and then they ran in and punched my husband straight in the face.’
The teens, George added, ran off to board a bus after the incident.
‘We were both just quite traumatised – I ended up crying. We’ve both been victims of homophobic violence before,’ he said, adding: ‘For both of us, it brought up past trauma.’
The force said: ‘Dorset Police received a report at 9.53pm on Monday 6 March 2023 of an assault in Exeter Crescent in Bournemouth.
‘It is reported that a man said homophobic abuse to two men, before pushing one of them to the floor. He sustained an injury to his eye.
‘Officers attended and carried out enquiries at the scene.
‘Dorset Police does not tolerate hate crime and an investigation is underway to identify the person responsible. No arrests have been made at this time.’
Speaking days after the attack, George said he wasn’t ‘surprised’ he and Jason were once again the victims of homophobic abuse.
After all, George said, the number of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in the UK has more than doubled in the last five years, per police figures.
Homophobic hate crimes were up from 10,003 in 2016-17 to 26,824 in 2021-22, a 168% increase.
Transphobic hate crimes saw an even greater increase of 240% in the same period.
Between 2016-17, police recorded 1,292 hate crimes against trans people – who make up just 0.5% of the population, according to recent census data.
Only five years later, the number surged to 4,399, the highest since records began.
Though, given that nine in 10 victims of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes do not tell the police, per government data, the number is likely even higher.
Fellow drag queen Aida H Dee, who founded Drag Queen Storytime UK, has become a go-to target for some far-right groups.
Her events, which see her and other drag artists reading stories about inclusivity and kindness to children, have been met with threats of violence.
‘This attack on two LGBTQ+ people holding hands is a prime example of what it means to be queer in the UK today,’ the 28-year-old told Metro.co.uk.
‘My family are scared for my wellbeing too. My little brother said to me last night, “I keep thinking I’ll find out you’ve been stabbed.”‘
‘LGBTQ+ people and their families are scared for their future – something needs to be done.’
Drag Queen Story Time UK said that attacks like those against ‘beloved’ drag queens George and Jason are being fuelled by those at the top.
‘The rise in hate crimes in the UK is a direct result of the hate-filled rhetoric that has been coming from those in positions of power, who have repeatedly validated LGBTQ+ hate by pushing their own hateful and prejudiced agendas,’ the group added.
George agrees. ‘The reason we’re coming forward is that this is an issue that is happening far too often,’ he said.
‘It’s just one of those things,’ he added. ‘Let’s face it, we’ve dealt with it our whole lives anyway.’
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