Drama has exploded on YouTube. One of its stars, Calum McSwiggan, posted a photo to Instagram today that showed him in the hospital with a bandage on his head covering some stitches. In the caption, he claimed that he was beaten by three men during a Pride celebration, but the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has a different story. Now people have a lot of questions.
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McSwiggan, who has over 62,000 subscribers on YouTube, has dedicated his channel to LGBT rights, mental health, sex education and just the life he leads in London. He traveled to Los Angeles to attend the yearly YouTube convention, VidCon, and stayed after to vacation in West Hollywood. In his Instagram post, McSwiggan wrote, “After one of the most wonderful weekends at VidCon we went out to a gay club to celebrate, and towards the end of the evening I was separated from my friends and beaten up by three guys. The authorities should have been there to help and protect me but instead they treated me like a second class citizen. With three broken teeth and six stitches in my forehead, I’ve never felt so terrified to be a gay man in the public eye.”
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Did @CalumMcSwiggan fake a hate crime?WeHo police:yes & here's a booking photo sans injuries https://t.co/omcZsrLNFLpic.twitter.com/K2FAIb66wR
— The Advocate (@TheAdvocateMag) June 28, 2016
As expected, there was an initial outpouring of love, support and shock that McSwiggan had to endure physical abuse without any protection. But then the Sheriff’s Department made a claim that made the whole story a little suspicious.
According to their statement, “Mr. McSwiggan, who had no visible injuries, was subsequently arrested after deputies observed him vandalizing a car in the 8900 block of Santa Monica Boulevard. After being booked and photographed, Mr. McSwiggan was placed into a cell by himself at West Hollywood Station. Mr. McSwiggan was then observed injuring himself with the handle and receiver to a payphone inside the cell. Medical personnel were summoned and Mr. McSwiggan was transported to a local hospital for treatment.”
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It’s impossible to know who is telling the truth as both sides have shown evidence to support their claims. Since his Instagram post, McSwiggan has been advised to remain silent until his court date tomorrow. All we can hope for at this point is a story that explains both sides of the story.
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