Entertainment

Calum McSwiggan Faked A Hate Crime? Police Say Gay YouTube Star Beat Himself Up After Arrest

Published on: June 29, 2016 at 1:22 PM
By Patricia Grannum

Calum McSwiggan , an openly gay Youtube lifestyle vlogger, may have faked a hate crime, the Los Angeles Times reports.

McSwiggan claims that he was assaulted in West Hollywood by three homophobic men, but authorities are saying that he injured himself after they arrested him for vandalism.

Calum posted a photo on his Instagram from a hospital bed where his head is bandaged and he’s connected to medical equipment.

“Last night was the worst night of my life and I’m really struggling to find the words to talk about it,” the caption of the photo reads. “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,” McSwiggan added. “I’ve never felt so terrified to be a gay man in the public eye.”

According to the Los Angeles Times , the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said that deputies did respond to a distress call from Calum McSwiggan after he reported an assault.

However, when they arrived on the scene, authorities found nothing that would substantiate claims of an assault. Instead, they arrested McSwiggan for the vandalism of a car along Santa Monica Boulevard. Based on police records, McSwiggan was held on a count of vandalism of property worth more than $400 and held on $20,000 bail.

There’s also a mug shot of McSwiggan that doesn’t show any evidence of injury.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Calum was placed in a solo jail cell, where he was then seen injuring himself with a “with the handle and receiver to a payphone.”

He was taken to the hospital, where he took the photo he posted to Instagram.

According to the Los Angeles Times , Calum was released from custody at around 9 p.m. at night on Monday with a citation and a court date. The outlet said that they reached out to him for an interview, but Calum said that he could not comment on the case before his court appearance.

But Calum’s friends are making comments on the incident on social media. Variety reports that Riyadh Khalif, who is also a YouTuber, was at the club with McSwiggan , but he didn’t witness the attack firsthand. He tweeted that men who “attacked” Calum “knew where we were going to be because of our posts on social media before we went out and even said our names as they beat him.”

McSwiggan has made a very vague comment on social media as well where he said that he won’t be saying anything more until his court date on Wednesday.

[Image via Instagram]

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