Cinema staff were forced to stop a movie midway through after a group became 'disruptive' before then hurling homophobic abuse at a gay couple. The incident, at the VUE Bury The Rock cinema, saw the large group repeatedly told off for talking and causing a nuisance before it quickly escalated on Saturday night (October 15).
Around an hour into the film, the group, who had previously been given a warning, were eventually asked to leave by security staff at the cinema. The incident escalated during the 10.15pm showing of Halloween Ends.
One gay couple, who have asked to remain nameless, say they then had homophobic slurs launched at them before the group of rowdy customers left and the film continued. It has been logged as a hate crime with police, who say they are investigating.
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One of the men, who had attended the late showing with his boyfriend and their female friend told the Manchester Evening News : "We had been to see the Halloween movie and went to a later showing than we were supposed to. We initially noticed a group of young males, I'd say they were teenagers, gathering at the entrance milling around, but didn't think too much of it at first.
"When we went inside, they were sat on the row in front of us. Before the film even started the security guard said there had been a complaint about their noise and if he had another they would be kicked out.
"After this, a girl sat in front of them asked them to stop kicking her chair, and one of them swore at her. Then another woman on the same row as them got into a verbal disagreement with them, but we decided to leave it as there was a big group of them and we didn't want any trouble.
"For the first hour they weren't too bad, they had been chatting but it wasn't too distracting. It was then that one of them got a phone call and answered it, prompting a couple to move seats."
He said security staff came into the auditorium to check on the group's behaviour multiple times, before it all came to a head around an hour into the horror movie. The customer told the M.E.N that, along with his partner and friend, they moved a couple of seats along as security staff were dealing with the group and blocking the screen.
It was at this point, he claims, that a few members climbed over the seats to the back row. He said that his female friend told them 'not to sit there' at which point they became 'verbally aggressive', before calling his boyfriend a 'b****y boy' along with other homophobic language when he intervened.
"It all became a bit out of hand, and more staff came in before the film was switched off and the lights came up. We had been told the film had stopped and they would offer us a refund" he added.
"I was at my wits end, it was almost laughable. They kept bouncing around, jumping across different chairs and then said to me, 'what are you laughing at, you f***ing f*****'.
"They kept using slurs - but it just sadly washes over you as a gay person. You sort of come to expect it and almost prepare yourself when there are a group of young people. We have heard it all before. They were just being vile with everyone and anyone who challenged them.
"This went on for a good fifteen minutes, and we were all told we would get a refund for a tickets and that the police were on their way. Eventually, in small groups, they all left and the film resumed.
"We didn't end up getting out until after 1am in the morning, that was how long it went on for. I felt so bad for the VUE staff who had to deal with it all."
Greater Manchester Police confirmed the incident had been reported, and that it had also been logged as a hate crime with the force. due to the nature of the language used. Enquiries are continuing into the incident and no arrests have been made.
A spokesperson for VUE said: “A group of customers was ejected from a screening of Halloween Ends on Saturday evening following complaints that they were causing a disturbance and impacting the experience of other guests. We are sorry to hear of this customer’s experience and will assist in every way possible during the police investigation.”
Any information should be passed to Greater Manchester Police via the LiveChat facility or by calling 101 quoting incident 307 of 16/10/2022. Details can be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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