Reality TV star Hughie Maughan has spoken out about being physically and verbally attacked by a group of teens in Dublin. 

On Monday, March 22, the group allegedly followed Maughan on his walk home and called out homophobic slurs while throwing bottles and sticks at him. Speaking with the Irish Mirror, the 26 year-old TV star said, “I was on my way home and they followed me for about a mile and continued taunting me. It was horrible. They were also calling me a pedophile and a child molester. How disgusting is that?”

Maughan further stated, “They threw bottles at me, sticks, and calling me every name under the sun, and calling me the most disgusting homophobic and derogatory names. It was literally a hate crime.”

Experiencing this vile abuse brought Maughan back to his “troubled years” growing up in the Traveller community. Speaking about the group of teens who attacked him, he said, “They are from the Travelling community also. There were about 10 to 15 of them. It reminded me of when I was growing up and why I was so unhappy. And it just makes you feel so alone.”

According to Maughan, he recorded the incident and sent clips to the Gardai, stating that the violent encounter has made him think twice about going on his daily walking route. He said, “What’s sad about it is, imagine I was a 15 year-old walking down the road in that moment. They probably would have beaten me up. I had that when I was a kid by other kids, boys and girls. The most disgusting, kicking and spitting on you and putting you down. And it led to me having a lot of self esteem issues my whole life.”

Further reflecting on his past experiences of homophobia and discrimination, Hughie Maughan spoke on how he felt equipped to rise above the hatred after continuously being  ‘pushed against the wall mentally and physically’. He said, “Maybe I sought out fame because I never got any positive attention in my life. Maybe so, when I sit down and think about it. It made me think of that yesterday. It’s strange how you block some stuff out in your life, but I thought of that yesterday.”