Man escapes jail time for homophobic fast-food sucker-punch on ‘Drag Race UK’ star
Author: Donald Padgett
A judge in the U.K. gave a suspended prison sentence to the unemployed construction worker who sucker-punched Drag Race UK star The Vivienne in a fast-food restaurant last year, according to the Mirror and other media outlets.
Alan Whitfield, 51, was found guilty last month of attacking The Vivienne at a McDonald’s in Liverpool in June. In a Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Friday District Judge Paul Healey gave him a 12-week prison sentence which he suspended for 18 months dependent upon Whitfield’s behavior. Whitfield was also ordered to avoid contact with The Vivienne, whose non-drag name is James Lee Williams, for two years.
Healey cited Whitfield’s role as caring for his elderly mother and lack of related or recent crimes in handing down the suspended sentence. He chastised Whitfield for his actions noting the attack took place during the lunch hour when children were present.
“Your behavior was really appalling,” Healey said during sentencing. “The most serious aggravating feature of the offense is the fact that it was motivated by hostility to the victim because of their sexual orientation.”
Whitfield had earlier denied he was motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias, instead saying he was only hurling repeated verbal abuse at The Vivienne because she had green hair and looked like an Oompa Loompa character from the Charlie and the Chocolate franchise of books and films.
“What have you come as, an Oompa Loompa?” he told the court he asked The Vivienne.
He also claimed he only threw a punch after The Vivienne commented on the appearance of his face which was suffering from skin cancer, something The Vivienne appeared to confirm in testimony before the court last year.
“He carried on, then after the fourth ‘look at the state of you,’” The Vivienne testified as reported by the Mirror. “I said, ‘Look at the state of you,’ I said, ‘Look at the state of your face,’ to which he said, ‘I’ve got skin cancer’ and then punched me straight in the face.”
The Vivienne apologized in court to Whitfield for the comments.
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Original Article on The Advocate
Author: Donald Padgett
