Drag queen says she’s ‘surprised and not surprised’ after being mugged by gang in London’s gay village
Drag queen Topsie Redfern was allegedly attacked in Soho, with thieves taking her mobile phone. (Supplied)
After grabbing a snack at a mini-mart in London’s gay district, a drag queen was attacked by three men, allegedly stealing her bag with her iPad, car keys and diary inside.
Topsie Redfern, known off-stage as Nathan Kiley, was in Soho in the early hours of Thursday after performing at a local pub.
But while walking down Old Compton Street – a historic avenue heaving with theatres and trendy bars – she was allegedly assaulted by the group.
Redfern has called on local businesses to check their surveillance cameras to help identify the men, coming at a time where violence against the community has soared in England.
Drag queen victim of theft: ‘I just didn’t imagine it would happen to me.’
“I’m both surprised and not surprised to be targeted,” Redfern told PinkNews.
“Unfortunately wearing drag in the street is still provoking for some people.
“However, as I was in Soho and am fairly confident I just didn’t imagine it would happen to me, especially there. ”
The 38-year-old had performed at the Duke of Wellington that night and, while calling a cab at around 1.15-1.45am outside Selva Food and Wine, she was assaulted.
In the early hours of November 4, a drag queen was allegedly the victim of a theft. (PinkNews)
In a Facebook post, Redfern described: “The three guys were initially hanging out in the corner shop opposite Ann Summers at the top of Old Compton Street where I went in to get a snack.
“They followed me to the convenience shop opposite Poppies Fish and Chip shop where I was waiting for my Uber and the incident took place.
“They then ran off past [the Les Misérables] stage door and Rupert Street.”
The three suspects ‘regularly hang’ outside Duke of Wellington, Topsie Redfern said.
Drag queen Topsie Redfern frequently performs the London drag circuit. (Supplied)
During the brawl, Redfern said they managed to land a punch on one of the men but another distracted her and snatched her mobile phone.
The thieves allegedly made off with her “blue leather bag” which contained her only set of car keys, her iPad as well as her 2019/2020 diaries – which Redfern uses to keep check of her work schedules.
According to a Duke of Wellington assistant manager, Redfern said, the three suspects “regularly hang” outside the pub and the Selva Food and Wine.
She described the trio of men as in the late teens and early twenties.
“One overweight pale guy, black greasy curly hair, English but of Greek heritage, 5’11″ish,” Redfern said.
“One short English-Arabic guy in a black jacket with black wispy moustache and beard.
“One tall slim English black guy with a chiselled face and black jacket. 6’2”ish.”
Anti-LGBT crime has rocketed in the last five years in England and Wales.
Alarming statistics have showed that homophobic and transphobic hate crimes have more than doubled in the nation in the last four years.
The rate of LGBT+ hate crime – including offences like harassment, assault and stalking – increased by 144 percent between 2014 and 2018.
There were 4,600 LGBT+ hate crimes reported in 2014, but in 2018 that number rose to 11,600.
Numbers of transphobic hate crimes specifically have tripled in the same amount of time, from 550 in 2014 to 1,650 in 2018.
