Paramore fans say they were harassed for being gay during Salt Lake City concert – Salt Lake Tribune
Forty-five minutes into watching their favorite band, Paramore, perform Tuesday night, Taylor Shelton and Dayle Hand went to the bar to grab drinks.
A man spotted Hand with her arm around Shelton and began verbally attacking them, the couple told FOX 13.
“He kept flipping us off and then just kept yelling, ‘Hey, you lesbos, get out of here, you guys suck,’” said Hand.
It got to the point when Shelton feared for her life.
“He flicked something off the table and then got up and ran at me like gorilla-style arms, just barreling at me,” she said.
Within moments, security guards saw what was happening.
“At minimum, ten people were on top of this guy fighting for a good five to 10 minutes, like he was not giving up,” said Shelton. “He lost his shoes, his pants ended up around his ankles, EMS got involved.”
Paramore took to social media to address the incident, condemning violence and homophobia and apologizing directly to Shelton and Hand for what happened.
“You never know how the person feels when they get to read that knows it’s about them, and it’s just very exciting to know that they actually care,” said Hand.
The two women have never been targeted for their sexuality like this before, they said.
“I’ve been out since I was 17,” said Shelton. “We’re almost 30, and I’m like, we’ve been listening to Paramore because they’re a huge LGBT band. We’ve been listening them since junior high.”
After spending almost $400 on the tickets, they only ended up seeing half of the show.
“It’s not like we’re out here skipping up and down the road, telling everybody to live our life,” said Hand. “We live our life just like everybody else lives theirs.”
The man who assaulted the couple was being taken to jail likely for a few days, police told the couple. It’s not clear if charges will be filed, and the incident is still under investigation.
First published by Fox13Now.com, a content partner with The Tribune. This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.