Gay Couple Attacked in an Apparent Hate Crime in London

British resident Oliver Ellis was returning home with his date from a restaurant in London when as the men were crossing the Charing Street Bridge over the Thames they were attacked by a group of men making homophobic slurs. “So last night my worst possible fear came true,” Oliver Ellis posted on Twitter. “And on the way home from a date, we were attacked unprovoked whilst crossing charing cross bridge by a fairly large group of people to the point of needing a night in hospital.”

(content/trigger warning)

so last night my worst possible fear came true and on the way home from a date, we were attacked unprovoked whilst crossing charing cross bridge by a fairly large group of people to the point of needing a night in hospital. pic.twitter.com/twq2AGQ9dp

— ol (@olivxr) October 9, 2021

Ellis who was not out to his parents was doubly anxious when they learned he was gay due to the news.

“Somehow I avoided the bottle that was thrown at us, however my date ended up getting cut quite seriously to the point of needing numerous scans and stitches this morning. thankfully the police responded pretty quickly and took us off to Saint Thomas  hospital for the night.”

Ellis continued, “Following the recent string of incidents, you assume – maybe naively – that these sorts of things don’t happen to you, especially in an area of London I presumed to be a bit of a safe haven. All we were doing was crossing the bridge, a fairly busy bridge across the Thames.”

“But unfortunately it did happen. Thankfully we’re both home and okay now, resting after a long night in and out of wards and waiting rooms. Whilst I fortunately came away fairly unscathed physically, mentally I can already tell it’s going to be a long road to recovery in feeling confident about being me out and about, down to the fear that this could happen again at any point.”

So take this as your warning, keep looking out for your friends, your family, and even strangers. it’s not fair that this has happened to me, or him, or anyone for that matter and thats that.”

Ellis then re-tweeted a post from Birmingham Pride announcing that, t”oday sees the start of #HateCrimeAwarenessWeek.”

Today sees the start of #HateCrimeAwarenessWeek

☎️ National LGBTQ+ Domestic Abuse helpline
0800 999 5428

☎️ LGBTQ+ Hate Crime Helpline
020 7704 2040

Further info and resource from @GalopUK https://t.co/xRmQlyJhEL

— Birmingham Pride (@BirminghamPride) October 9, 2021

The next day Ellis posted a follow up that read: thank you everybody for your lovely messages today – we’re really feeling and appreciating the love after such a shitty day. And for those who asked, thankfully the reaction from my parents was what I could have only dreamed for.”

thank you everybody for your lovely messages today – we’re really feeling and appreciating the love after such a shitty day ????

and for those who asked, thankfully the reaction from my parents was what i could have only dreamed for

— ol (@olivxr) October 9, 2021