The British actor Linus Karp has revealed on social media that he was the victim of a homophobic attack last week in the SoHo area of London.
In a series of posts on X, Karp, seen recently in the U.S. in the stage satire Gwyneth Goes Skiing, described being struck in the head with the handle end of a heavy umbrella as he and his partner Joseph Martin were walking in the neighborhood popular with the LGBTQ+ community.
“Last night I was the victim of a homophobic attack,” Karp wrote. “Walking down Dean St. in Soho with my partner @suddenlyjoseph, I feel a blow to my head. A man has hit me with an umbrella, the wooden handle hitting my head with such force it fell off and into the road. I have never felt a blow like it.”
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Karp wrote that his partner deflected the blow enough to avoid a much worse injury.
He “managed to get his hand up to somewhat soften the blow – which made the man shout: ‘You saved his life, I would’ve killed him!’ before walking off. My crime: being visibly queer.”
Karp said the hero of the story was Martin, who first checked that Karp was safe, then ran after the assailant and tackled him, bringing him to the ground.
Martin “held him in a grip until the police came. Pretty spectacular stuff actually – he’s a masc hero.”
Karp’s attacker was taken into custody; he, Martin, and other witnesses to the crimes shared statements with the police. One witness was spat on by the assailant as he was leaving the scene. Karp thanked another unnamed witness for tending to his injury as they waited for police.
Karp said as his partner restrained the attacker, “The man kept calling me a pedophile and rapist – so I have no doubt that it was a queerphobic hate time. Given the evidence, witnesses, CCTV and seriousness of the incident I hope @MetCC will do a proper investigation, as that man should not be walking the streets.”
Metropolitan Superintendent Beth Pirie acknowledged in a statement that the assault “will cause significant concern, particularly within the local LGBTQ+ community.”
“There is no place for hate in London and we will not tolerate this type of behavior. A fast-time arrest was made and our officers are continuing to carry out all lines of enquiry. Our thoughts remain with the victim, who has been spoken to by a specialist liaison officer and will be updated as the investigation progresses.”
The attacker was taken into custody and later detained under the Mental Health Act.
“To my queer friends,” Karp wrote, “please be cautious around Soho. Very grateful to the people, especially the woman with dark hair, who looked after me after the attack and to my amazing partner @suddenlyjoseph who acted so quickly and like a fucking superhero.”
Karp says he spent many hours in the ER but was lucky his injuries weren’t more severe.
“It’s just not something you’d ever think would happen to yourself,” he wrote, “but anti queer hate crimes are rising at an alarming rate and it’s scary to see the queerphobic rhetoric so much of the media and politicians are using – as it does have real life impact again and again.”
Karp and Martin’s Gwyneth Goes Skiing recently played at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The pair take the live stage show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.
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