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"My Name Is Your Worst Enemy": Homophobic Road Rage Caught on Video

"My Name Is Your Worst Enemy": Homophobic Road Rage Caught on Video

Cyclist and Motorist
Cyclist and Motorist

An incident this week in Southern California brought out the worst in a SUV driver, who went on a profane, slur-laden tirade against a bicyclist.

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Road rage incidents are fairly common in large metropolitan areas, but one that happened this week in Southern California is notable for the homophobic vitriol spewed by an SUV driver against a bicyclist.

The cyclist, who has not been identified, was riding Wednesday morning on Pacific Coast Highway in the Corona del Mar section of Newport Beach, an affluent community about 35 miles south of Los Angeles. He was riding in what's called a share lane, which cars and SUVs can use when no bikes are present but is reserved for cyclists otherwise.

The driver, Robert Lewis, apparently didn't realize cyclists had rights to the lane and went on a tirade after his vehicle brushed the bike rider's elbow. A friend of the rider caught the encounter on video and posted it to YouTube.

"What are you gonna do? Put it on tape? A surfer against a queer?" Lewis says in the video. He later calls the cyclist a "faggot" and a "pussy," and when the cyclist asks for his name, he replies, "My name is your worst enemy, motherfucker."

Lewis also says, "If there wasn't any witnesses, you know what I'd do to you? I'd pull Trump on you," not explaining what he means by invoking the Republican presidential nominee's name. He further calls the cyclist a "dead man walking."

L.A. TV station KCBS interviewed Lewis Thursday, and he apologized. "I'm just an old surfer knucklehead, and I do apologize for using the words that I used," he told a KCBS reporter.

Newport Beach police are investigating the incident, the station notes. Watch the YouTube video -- warning: plenty of profanity and slurs -- and the KCBS report below.

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"My Name Is Your Worst Enemy": Homophobic Road Rage Caught on Video

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.