{"id":326684,"date":"2023-08-16T13:42:20","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T13:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.co.uk\/?p=326684"},"modified":"2023-08-16T13:42:20","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T13:42:20","slug":"man-charged-for-homophobic-attack-against-drag-race-star-the-vivienne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/life\/man-charged-for-homophobic-attack-against-drag-race-star-the-vivienne\/","title":{"rendered":"Man charged for homophobic attack against Drag Race star The Vivienne"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police have charged the person suspected of attacking\u00a0RuPaul’s Drag Race UK<\/em> winner The Vivienne<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n

On 16 June, the man approached The Vivienne in a Liverpool McDonald’s and made homophobic comments.<\/p>\n

He then punched her in the face and fled, according to Merseyside Police.<\/p>\n

Alan Whitfield, 50, of Everton, has been charged with assault. He will appear before magistrates on 5 September.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

“No-one, no matter what their background or religious beliefs, should be assaulted, threatened, or subjected to any form of hate crime,” Detective Inspector Alan Nuttall said, according to the BBC<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

“Please be reassured that we thoroughly investigate reports of those targeted through hate crime and will be relentless to bring offenders to justice.”<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Police release photo of man they wish to identify in connection with Clapham stabbings<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Vivienne responded to the news on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“With hate crimes on the rise. I will not, and will never stop SCREAMING ABOUT EQUALITY FOR EVERYBODY! At least some good news has come today.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Thanks again to <\/span>@MerseyPolice <\/a><\/span>who have been fantastic and who I will be working with in the future to make sure we battle this head on.”<\/p>\n

The Vivienne has been open about the psychological impact the attack had on her<\/h2>\n

In a recent appearance on This Morning<\/em><\/a>, the drag superstar spoke about how the experienced affected her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was in broad daylight. I wasn\u2019t in drag. I was getting a burger, and what happened, happened, but the police were fantastic, and it did kind of shake me up a little bit,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I\u2019ve always been from a young age so confident and didn\u2019t care what anyone thought. But then I found myself, even after the attack, I was like, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s fine, I\u2019ve dealt with this for years,\u2019 but then going on a train and hiding around a corner\u2013\u2013 it did shake me up a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n