Sue Perkins in tears after being subjected to homophobic abuse
Sue Perkins has told how she broke down in tears after being subjected to homophobic abuse while she was out walking her dog.
The former Great British Bake Off host was enjoying a peaceful stroll on Hampstead Heath in London when a man called her a “f****** d***”.
Opening up about the incident on the Homo Sapiens podcast, Perkins said it was the first homophobic insult she had received in about 20 years.
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She said: “At the time, I sort of went right up to him and said, ‘What did you say?’
“And he sort of postured a bit almost as if he was going to hit me, almost like an intimation of something physical.”
The 51-year-old – who is in a relationship with fellow TV star Anna Richardson – repeated her question.
“I remember my hand was out because I wanted to keep that distance,” she said.
“Like if you come within the length of my arm I know that something really bad is going to happen.”
The presenter said the man “sort of buckled a bit” when she challenged him, then said: “‘I just mean you've got a nice face, why would you...'
“I just thought, 'What's my face got to do with you?’”
She continued: “I just said, 'I'm just walking my dog and I'm quiet and I'm in a good mood and I've got love for everyone here and you have destroyed that and you can't take that back today.'
“And I went off and I burst into tears.”
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“It was so shocking and so unusual,” Perkins added.
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