A gay man filmed and shared homophobic verbal abuse he encountered on the bus while traveling home after attending Edinburgh Pride in Scotland. It is believed to have been filmed in Leith Walk early Sunday morning.
The man, who declared himself retired and appears to be in his sixties or seventies, got into a heated argument with Rhys Smith and his friends. He calls Smith an asshole and says, “you probably take it up the ass.”
Smith says he filmed the incident in order to raise awareness that homophobia is alive and well, and to “shame the stupid fool.” He and his friends are heard going back and forth with the man in the brief clip, which lasts about a minute.
“We had done absolutely nothing to antagonize him or draw attention to ourselves on this bus,” Smith said when sharing the video.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
“Granted from this video it seems that our response seems like the more aggressive party, but we reacted in defense,” he continued. “The principle of the matter if that no abuse or hate crime should be tolerated. Gay, straight, black, white, disabled, NOTHING! It’s 2016 for goodness sake.
“Apologies for the language and the way we reacted! Probably not the most composed, mature approach. However on the spot, the rage and anger took us over! We did nothing to provoke this at all. We were exhausted and just having chats and giggles on the bus.”
Watch the incident below.
