TV3 star Alan Hughes has told how he was left “shook up” after being abused on the street for being gay.
The Ireland AM presenter says attitudes “haven’t really” changed in 2014 – revealing he had anti-gay slurs yelled at him on a Dublin street.
“We were coming out of the Tivoli Theatre after having a panto meeting recently and I was getting abuse thrown at me from across the street,” he said.
Abused: Alan with Ireland AM colleagues | VIPIRELAND.COM
“Verbal, really horrible, horrible abuse. And in this day and age, you’re still getting that. I mean really, I was shook up by it.
“And that was only last week. You think it’s getting better but, at the same time, you’re being verbally abused in the streets in Dublin still in 2014.”
It comes after TV stylist Brendan Courtney told how he recently experienced similar abuse in Dublin.
And Alan – who married panto producer Karl Broderick three years ago – says he forces to keep on walking.
“You just keep walking. The worse thing to do is to try and react to that,” he added.
Wedding: Alan and Karl on their big day | VIPIRELAND.COM
“I always think that if you react and go over and try to do something, you’re going down to their level. So rise above it and just keep going.”
The Ballymount host now worries that the same sex referendum won’t pass next year, believing there isn’t “enough incentive” to get people out and voting.
He added: “You think the country has changed in recent times but we attended the Mr Gay Ireland event recently.
“And there were 21-year-olds who were still bullied in school. So you would think times have changed, but they haven’t really.”
Husband Karl, who is known recently for his Eurosong spat with Aslan’s Billy McGuinness on the Late Late Show, feels as a gay man you have to try and “butch up” when walking around town.
Loved-up: Alan and Karl | BRIAN MCEVOY
He told RSVP Magazine: “You do find yourself trying to butch up when you’re passing a group of lads on the street. You kind of expect it.
“You sort of just do, it’s built into our DNA that it’s just always happened. So you find yourself trying to just hope that you’re not being obvious. I even try and speak differently and get rid of a gay accent.”
And Karl does sometimes wish that the homophobes would end up being punched by the gays they attack.
“You wish they’d come across the wrong gay who would just go over and pummel them,” he admitted.
“Every gay person I know just says to walk on and hold your head high but sometimes I’d just love to be the wrong one they messed with.”
