Elektra Fence, who appeared on Drag Race UK Season 3, has shared about being “the subject of a homophobic attack” whilst travelling to Manchester, UK.
Elektra – known outside of drag as Julian Riley – told followers about the attack which took place while travelling from London Euston to Manchester on 24 April.
“I was travelling from Euston to Manchester on Avanti West Coast Railway and went to get a cup of tea” Elektra said, walking past “a group of nine people (five male, four female). One of the men jumped out at me, making me scream and the group went on to call me various homophobic slurs as I passed.”
Having initially ignored the thugs, Elektra said: “On my way back to my seat one of the men grabbed me and I was pushed on top of him, at which point he pulled open my jacket. Other members of the group then began putting their hands on me.”
“It was incredibly aggressive and frightening and I felt totally helpless”, Elektra added.
Elektra said about using “a self-defence move” from TikTok to get free of the attackers, but was still subjected to “every homophobic slur under the sun” once lose from their physical grip.
Thankfully, the train manager was on hand for at least some support, with the performer saying he, “made me feel safe and got me a cup of tea and some biscuits and looked after me for the rest of my journey.”
We are really sorry to hear that this happened onboard one of our trains Elektra, no one should have to experience that. Really glad to hear our TM Lee was there to support you ❤ If you are able to DM us with the journey details, we’ll get this looked into further. – Carmen https://t.co/YgYHqCSEER
— Avanti West Coast (@AvantiWestCoast) April 26, 2022
After sharing about the incident on Twitter, the train company replied to Elektra, saying: “We are really sorry to hear that this happened onboard one of our trains Elektra, no one should have to experience that”
Continuing, “Really glad to hear our TM Lee was there to support you. If you are able to DM us with the journey details, we’ll get this looked into further.”
Elektra later learned that a staff member on the train ‘received racist abuse’ from the same group.
The police were apparently called but were not present when the group got off the train at Crewe Station.
Riley went on to say, “attacks are at the back of many Queer people’s minds every day, including mine”, adding momentarily considering changing clothes to feel ‘safer’.
“I won’t be changing a thing about myself. I very nearly changed my outfit immediately after in order to blend in. But no. Our community has fought too hard. Dimming my light is not an option”.
View this post on Instagram