Transgender woman speaks out after she was allegedly beaten in ‘wild brawl’ at Kanye West concert
Blu Linares, a 22-year-old transgender woman, has told TMZ that she was seriously beaten at a recent Kanye West show.
On Thursday (March 14), West took to the stage with Ty Dolla $ign as the headliners for the opening night of the Rolling Loud Festival in Los Angeles.
In the crowd, Linares claims that she then involved in an attack she has labelled as transphobic.
Speaking to TMZ, Linares explained that she was in the mosh pit where people were bumping into one another unintentionally.
Two guys “thought I was doing it on purpose,” Linares details. “They gashed my eyebrow with their ring and that’s how it all started.”
The video of the incident appears to show Linares and two male attendees sparring as the crowd separates at their fight.
Linares is seen with her face covered in blood after being attacked.
“They were the ones that attacked me first for basically no reason. It’s a given in a festival, of course, you’re going to be bumping into people around you.
“For some reason they were specifically getting angry at me,” Linares adds, noting that many other concertgoers also bumped into the men.
“I feel like it was transphobic because of the things that were said to me,” Linares added. “They were accusing me of doing things on purpose.”
In the TMZ interview, Linares does have visible cuts and bruising around her eyes and eyebrows.
Linares says the police did not get involved at the festival. The outlet reports that Linares is planning to meet with attorneys to discuss the incident but she most likely won’t be taking any legal action.
In recent years, vocal Trump supporter Kanye West has been criticised for his controversial, alt-right views which he has publicised widely to his fanbase. It’s within these online right-wing communities that anti-trans rhetoric often also spreads.
In October 2022, West wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt at Paris Fashion Week. The same month the ‘Monster’ singer appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show where he promoted a series of offensive conspiracy theories about Jewish people.
So far, neither West or Ty Dolla Sign have addressed the alleged violent actions of their fans.
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