Brazen homophobic abuse at Joburg cinema
mambaonline.comAward-winning documentarian and activist Angelo Louw was the target of a homophobic group of men A night out to see a movie turned into an abusive homophobic experience for two queer individuals in Johannesburg. LGBTQ+ and climate activist Angelo Louw told Mambaonline that he and a friend set out to watch a film at the Ster Kinekor cinema in Cresta Mall on Friday night.
During the movie, a group of young men seated behind them started to brazenly harass the two, kicking their seats, laughing, and making homophobic comments. “They were young, late teens or early twenties.
It was dark so we could barely see them,” says Louw. “There were a few other people in the cinema. They were stunned and just remained in their seats unsure what to do. “I didn’t want to make a scene or get them into trouble because they were young, so I just hoped they would stop – and at some point, they did.
Little did I know that they were planning to ambush us when the movie ended.” As Louw and his friend were exiting the cinema, one of the young men hurled a box of popcorn at them and yelled “suck my dick”.
