Paul O’Grady threatens to knock thug’s teeth out after he called his husband a ‘f***ing queer’
Paul O’Grady. (Anthony Harvey/Getty)
A man was reportedly arrested after subjecting Paul O’Grady and his husband to homophobic abuse on a flight.
The beloved out TV host and his husband Andre Portasio had been returning to London on a British Airways flight from Bangkok on Sunday (September 16) when the incident occurred.
Speaking to The Sun, O’Grady alleged that another passenger in business class began to lob homophobic abuse, describing Portasio as a “f***ing queer,” adding: “Do you want to suck my cock?”
Paul O’Grady during the National Television Awards 2018 (John Phillips/Getty)
O’Grady said he refused to tolerate the abuse and threatened to knock the man’s teeth out.
He said: “I stood up and said, ‘You’re lucky we’re not in the street, mate, because you’d be eating your dinner through a straw.’
“He didn’t know I was sitting next to Andre. Then the bonehead was saying something about me thinking I could do whatever I wanted because I was famous.
“He claimed Andre had been looking at him, which was ridiculous. I mean, he was this typical English yob with a beard and a beer belly.”
The man was ejected from business class, and arrested when the plane landed at Heathrow—though he was released after O’Grady and Portasio decided not to press charges.
Paul O’Grady (Tim P. Whitby/Getty)
O’Grady told the newspaper that “it could easily have turned nasty up there,” and that “they should have turned that flight around and had him arrested by Thai police.”
The TV host and ballet dancer Portasio got married last year in a secret ceremony attended by their family and friends, with guests including Sir Ian McKellen and Julian Clary.
O’Grady married once before, to his friend Teresa Fernandes in 1977, to stop her from being deported.
They divorced in 2005.
O’Grady previously said he did not want to marry again, saying: “Why the f*** would I want to get married?
“I was married for 25 years to a Portuguese lesbian. I’m divorced. And I’ve a daughter of 40 and two grandkids.”
O’Grady hosted the recent revival of popular TV show Blind Date on Channel 5.
The beloved dating show, which was famously hosted by O’Grady’s close friend Cilla Black, added LGBT contestants for the first time in the revival.
The TV host said of the show: “I think it’s about time, don’t you? Years ago, when Cilla was doing the show, it was mooted, but I don’t think the time was right.
“There was a bit of a hoo-hah about that then, but now of course [it’s different].
“We had a hoot, the audience loved it, and it was no big deal. That’s what I was so impressed about.”
