The Vivienne, Winner of 'Drag Race UK,' Survives Hate Attack with Style

The Vivienne - winner of the inaugural season of "Drag Race UK" and one of the franchise's "All Stars" - dealt with a harrowing homophobic assault with grace and style.

Australian newspaper the Star Observer reported that The Vivienne, 31, sent out a series of tweets on June 16 about an assault she suffered that day while at a fast food restaurant in Liverpool, England.

The first tweet announced, "Just been attacked in McDonald's, Police on way. Homophobia alive and well folks!"

"First time I've never retaliated in a fight because I'm not gonna punch somebody in front of kids and women," the drag star added, finishing the post with the hashtag "#pieceofshit".

More tweets followed, updating the situation more or less in real time. "Police on way," The Vivienne tweeted. "Thank you all for you concern, the police have been great and I believe the culprit has been been found," the drag superstar said.

A police report verified that the assailant had been taken into custody.

"We have arrested a man following reports a man was subjected to a homophobic assault in Liverpool," the Merseyside police said in a statement. "The victim, who is in his 30s, reported he was in McDonald's on Edge Lane in Old Swan at around 12:25 BST when a man made homophobic comments towards him and then punched him in the face. The man then made off."

But he didn't evade justice for long.

The Vivienne encouraged her followers to respond to bias-driven episodes of violence, posting, "it's so important that as a community we report and take action on hate crimes. Otherwise it continues to happen. Time to set an example!"

The "All Stars" Season 7 competitor extended a note of gratitude to the restaurant's workers, posting, "Huge thank you to the fantastic staff at @McDonaldsUK Edge Lane who acted fast and removed the idiot from the premises and did everything in their power to make sure I was ok and waited for police with me 💚"

Despite the alleged assault, the drag artist maintained her poise and perspective. Later that same day, "Two lovely ladies just came and complimented my hair and said I look lovely," The Vivienne said. "What a stark contrast of people we have on this planet! All in a day huh? A punch and a compliment".

She also expressed concern for others who, unlike herself, might not be able to fight back. "I'm a tough cookie, I'm on with my day, punch to the face or not."

"Not everybody is as big/strong/tall as me. I fears for the other that aren't able to handle themselves and shouldn't have to," she posted.

Fans responded with messages of support, with some sharing their own stories of abuse at the hands of violent homophobes.

A few took note of how politically motivated anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has driven an increase in homophobic hostility recently.

Among the well wishers were a few of The Vivienne's fellow drag artists.

The day after the attack, The Vivienne offered another update, letting her followers know that the suspect had lost his job - and also calling for people not to target his former place of employment, a scaffolding company in Liverpool.

Noting that "the owner of the company has been extremely helpful and willing to resolve this whole thing," The Vivienne said on Facebook. "The man in question's job has been terminated and the owner of the company has done everything in their power to make sure this never happens again, with more diversity training and zero-tolerance policy."

"I don't want anybody else to be affected by this incident," the drag artist emphasized.

"In hindsight I shouldn't have posted" information on the assailant's employer, she said in the FB post as well as on Twitter, "but I'd just been punched and abused for no reason so I acted quick without thinking."

Fans respected The Vivienne's wishes: "Review changed to reflect their swift and helpful actions!" one person posted.