Gay man assaulted in restuarant

An Orange Grove woman and her gay son were allegedly assaulted at Toninos Portuguese Restaurant, in Sydenham, in an apparent homophobic attack.

Teddy Samson said she was beaten up by a group of men, including the manager, when she was trying to protect her son, Mclain.

Samson said the men hurled abuse at her son before assaulting him. She said the manager pulled her by her arm before kicking her in the stomach.

“When I fell down he beat me in the face.” According to Samson, a man who is a restaurant staff member said to her, “Hey you dog, take your dog, faggot son and leave, we don’t allow gays here, this not a place for gays.”

Her son said he had previously been discriminated against by the management for being gay.

He said in one incident the manager accosted him because he was wearing high heels and a miniskirt. “He told me I was not supposed to dress like that because I would never be a woman and I was a disgusting display. They literally shoved me out of the bar,” said Mclain.

Mclain said on the day of the assault, he and his brother, Adam, were leaving the bar with their mother when one of the regular customers held the door and started swearing at them.

“My brother told him to leave us alone but a group of male patrons, the staff and the manager attacked us,” he said. “My mom tried to help us but the men also attacked her.”

Mclain said when they tried to defend their mother the men began to beat them up using pool sticks, and punched and kicked them. He said his mother had to be admitted to hospital for two days.

Tonino’s manager, who only wanted to be named as Tony, alleged that the Samson’s were lying as they were the ones who always wanted to cause trouble for everyone.

“I know everything, she (Teddy) is a big liar,” he said. “We don’t have a problem with gays here. I just told him (Mclain) to stop going to ladies bathrooms because I get complaints from some of the women.

“On the day he came in here wearing a miniskirt, I told him to go home and get dressed because some people would make funny comments about it and that could ignite a fight, I was avoiding that. They also like to order and refuse to pay for their drinks.”

Norwood police spokesperson Constable Nonzwakazi Tsoanyane said the police were investigating the matter.