Police investigating after Black drag performer called ‘racial slur’ by ‘Cambridge students’

Police have confirmed they are investigating an alleged hate crime, after a Black drag performer says they were called a racial slur by an individual wearing a University of Cambridge sports jacket, leading them to believe it was a Cambridge student.

Performer Guillotina took to social media to speak about the experience, where they alleged a person in a jacket reading “Cambridge Tennis” called them a “n****r” in a McDonald’s.

The 24-year-old said the incident took place at around 3am on Saturday 22nd November, with the individual who reportedly directed the slur at Guillotina receiving laughter from those around him.

“He and his friends started laughing as they did this [said the slur], all while deliberately avoiding eye contact and denying me the chance to confront them,” the drag performer said.

In a video on Instagram, Guillotina confirmed they filed a report but claimed police initially said they weren’t investigating because no crime had been committed.

However, Cambridgeshire Constabulary told The Cambridge Tab police received the report on 25th November, which outlined that “a racially aggravated public order offence, amounting to a hate crime, had been made to a man in Cambridge.” They confirmed an investigation is now underway.

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A post shared by Guillotina (@itz_guillotina)

In a second post uploaded to Instagram, Guillotina said that they didn’t believe the person who allegedly perpetrated the hate crime acted with “malice in the sense of intent to harm physically”. Rather, they believe the individual’s goal was “to humiliate me in public, knowing they towered over and outnumbered me.”

“It was degrading and humiliating,” the Cambridge-based performer added.

Guillotina further claimed that multiple people in the vicinity were wearing Cambridge Tennis jackets, but that nobody intervened during the incident.

The 24-year-old has said the incident has left them feeling “tired” and isolated. They pointed to a “lack of POC queer people” in the city to turn to for support. Although Guillotina has acknowledged that Cambridge has a large gay community, they said the queer scene is comprised of “predominantly white spaces”.

“There is nothing more humiliating than going through a hate crime like this and feeling like no one would understand,” they continued.

In their initial Instagram upload, the drag performer said: “Cambridge f*cking sucks if you’re Black.”

A later Instagram post prompted further reflection, with Guillotina adding: “Cambridge doesn’t just f*cking suck if you’re Black. Cambridge MEGA f*cking sucks if you’re Black AND queer.”

Under Guillotina’s video, people took to the comments to share similar experiences. The 24-year-old said the incident has prompted a “desire for a dialogue” and they hope it incites “continued discussion” surrounding racism.

McDonald’s on Rose Crescent, Cambridge, via Google Maps

A spokesperson for the Cambridgeshire Constabulary said: “We are fully committed to tackling hate crime in our communities – working to ensure just outcomes for victims and with our partners to stop these crimes from happening in the first place.

“We have robust mechanisms in place to review hate-crimes, to ensure they are properly recorded and investigated according to law and national guidance.”

A spokesperson for McDonald’s said: “We are saddened to hear about the incident at our Cambridge Rose Crescent restaurant. Discrimination of any kind has no place in our restaurants, and we are supporting the police with their investigation.”

Cambridgeshire Constabulary said: “Police received a report on the afternoon of Tuesday, 25 November, that a racially aggravated public order offence, amounting to a hate crime, had been made to a man in Cambridge.

“The reported incident happened at about 3am on Saturday (22 November), in McDonald’s in Rose Crescent. An investigation has now been launched and enquiries continue. Anyone with any information is urged to contact us online quoting crime reference 35/91238/25, or call 101 if you do not have internet access.”

The University of Cambridge, Cambridge Students’ Union, Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Society and McDonald’s did not respond to requests for comment.

Featured image credit via Instagram / @itz_guillotina