Drag Race UK star Pixie Polite hospitalised after being punched in ‘homophobic’ attack

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star Pixie Polite says she was “punched” and left needing hospital treatment after a “homophobic” assault in London.

The drag performer, who is best known for appearing on Drag Race UK season four back in 2022, stated in a post on her Instagram Stories that she was mocked and assaulted in the Colliers Wood area of south west London yesterday (28 July). 

“Just got assaulted in Tesco at Colliers Wood. Punched in the back of the neck/head. Sick of this sh*t,” she wrote.

Pixie Polite made headlines back in August 2023 after a man threatened to stab her with a whisky bottle in the Kennington area of south London.

The drag performer continued in yesterday’s post: “Main point is I’m ok, police were surprisingly great. An incident that evolved from general comments and mocking, into verbal homophobic abuse, then into violence.

“When they catch the guy it will be prosecuted as there’s CCTV, witnesses, and I also got a picture of the guy. Mentally fine but heading to hospital with suspected concussion. But overall soooo fine.”

In the early hours of this morning (29 July), she confirmed that she had attended an Accident and Emergency centre in London, where she was treated for a “general head injury”.

She confirmed that she did not have a concussion, but was advised to “keep an eye out over the next few days just in case symptoms worsen”.

In a follow-up post this morning (29 July), Pixie shared that she had been left feeling “a little groggy” following the assault.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pixie Polite (@pixiepolite)

“Majorly appreciate everyone’s concern and blown away by the amount of messages I have received. Feeling a little groggy today, and have taken the day off to rest and process what happened,” she shared.

“Overall I’m pretty much fine but I am feeling the same sense of righteous indignation I felt last night. So please enjoy this picture of me looking like a bad ass, while I daydream about justice today.”

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police Service confirmed the incident is being treated as a hate crime.

“At 18:10hrs on Monday, 28 July officers responded to reports of assault and verbal abuse inside a shop on High Street Colliers Wood, Merton.

“Police spoke with one victim, a person in their 30s. An investigation has been launched and the incident is being treated as a hate crime. Enquiries are ongoing. At this stage no arrests have been made.

“The victim is being supported by officers. We understand the impact this will have had on the LGBTQ+ community. If you have any concerns please speak to a local police officer. Anyone with information that might help police with this investigation can call 101 referencing CAD 5855/28JUL.

“To remain completely anonymous you can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.“

The incident occurred despite a reported significant drop in homophobic hate crimes in the UK’s capital, with MPS reporting that there were just over 3,000 such incidents between June 2024 and June 2025.

It’s a decrease of 18.7 per cent compared with the previous 12 months. However, the number of homophobic incidents reported to have occurred on London’s transport network increased by 34 per cent between 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.

There has also been a decline in the number of sexual orientation related hate crimes in England and Wales, with the number reported falling by 8.5 per cent between 2022/2023 and 2023/2024. 

Despite this, a number of LGBTQ+ stars have reported being affected by homophobic incidents in the UK over the past year, including I Kissed A Boy star Dan Harry and theatre performance artist Linus Karp.

In 2023, late Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne was assaulted in a homophobic incident in McDonald’s in Liverpool. The assailant received a suspended jail sentence in early 2024.

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