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In some sincerely nauseating news from this weekend, gay singer Kevin Aviance was violently beaten late Friday night (or very early Saturday morning, if you prefer) on his way home in the East Village. Four men, ranging in ages from 16 to 20, have been arrested in connection to the incident and charged with first-degree assault as a hate crime.

According to Aviance, he was walking home alone from the Phoenix and crossing 16th Street at Second Avenue when the men began throwing garbage at him. They then jumped him from behind, kicking and stomping on him in the middle of the intersection — and though we understand that as New Yorkers, we are expected to ignore all domestic disputes, muggings and car-jackings, it's nevertheless upsetting that no one intervened (at the very least, for the sake of traffic). When the men left, a stranger took Aviance to the hospital, where his shattered jaw has since been wired shut.

Aviance, who often dresses in full drag, said "he was shocked that the teens attacked him, because [...] he was wearing a pair of Helmut Lang boots, black baggy shorts and a sleeveless hooded sweatshirt." And if had he been wearing 6-inch platform heels, it would've much less shocking? Sorry, what year is this? And since when were we living in fucking Laramie?

Fourth Man Is Arrested in Attack on Dance Recording Artist in East Village [NYT]
Drag Queen Celeb a Gay-Bash Victim [NYP]