The marketing director of Pride Edinburgh has said homophobic abuse launched at him on a journey home from an award ceremony was “deeply upsetting” and left him “humiliated”.
At the Proud Scotland Awards in Glasgow on Saturday (31 May), Jamie Love received the Impact Award for his marketing agency, Monumental, in recognition of its contribution to the LGBTQ+ community.
However, upon travelling home after celebrating his success, Love told PinkNews that he was subjected to an unprovoked homophobic attack on board a train.
The male passenger, who was captured in a TikTok video seen by PinkNews, was confronted by Love’s friend for being homophobic, his response was recorded and appears to show him saying: “Your gay pal is a f—.”
British Transport Police told PinkNews: “Officers received a report of a hate crime on a train from Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh at around 12.10am yesterday (1 June).”
‘Humiliating, disorienting, and deeply upsetting’
Love told PinkNews: “The experience was humiliating, disorienting, and deeply upsetting. And the worst part wasn’t even the slur — it was how casually it was delivered, how easily it was laughed off by his friends, and how normal it clearly felt to them to ridicule someone just for existing in public.”
He continued: “That’s now also reflected in the TikTok comments where this individual, who has now been identified, is being praised and called a ‘legend’ for his hate crime.”
The attack happened just a day before the start of Pride Month, which is celebrated annually in June in memory of the Stonewall uprising.
Love said of Pride: “We often talk about Pride as a celebration but this shows that Pride above anything is a protest. We’re still being harassed on public transport, in our own cities, even while heading home from events that are supposed to mark progress. What happened to me isn’t just about one man’s hatred — it’s a reflection of how comfortable people still feel expressing that hatred out loud.”
Research published by the government in October last year showed that hate crimes based on a person’s sexual orientation dropped by eight per cent in the year 2023-2024, compared with 2022-2023, while transphobic hate crime fell by two per cent.
Despite the drop in numbers, campaigners described the figures as “deeply worrying”. A report has also shown that the majority of LGBTQ+ hate crime victims fail to report to police because they feel it’s “too minor” and they don’t trust the service.
‘We will not be intimidated back into silence’
Love, who has reported the homophobic incident to Police Scotland, admitted that he is still “angry”, but added: “As we enter Pride Month I’m also more energised than ever to continue the work I do. We will not be intimidated back into silence.”
British Transport Police said: “Officers are investigating and ask anyone with information to contact BTP by texting 61016, or by calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 19 of 1 June 2025.”
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