This story comes from the land down under last week. To the best of my knowledge, they haven’t caught the guy, but the story is pure insanity. Sure, you should never hurl any slurs, racial or homophobic, but this little incident at a park sparked what appears to be a statewide manhunt for a jogger in his 50s. The best part was the news report, and if you pay attention, you can see why.
The local news was on the case, reporting that a man captured a jogger and called some gay dudes in a park ‘poofters,’ which is apparently illegal to say. The police are after him. He used the f-word, but the irony is that the news report censored the curse words but did not bleep out the homophobic slur. So, the f-word is worthy of censorship, but not the word that led to a BOLO for hate speech (via Victoria Police):
Police are hunting a Melbourne jogger wanted over a homophobic outburst against three strangers in Kensington. One of the victims is leading efforts to track the culprit down and bring him to justice. @LauraTurner_7 pic.twitter.com/Na0TNYtlnj
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) January 23, 2026
Melbourne North police are investigating a prejudice-motivated incident that occurred in Kensington earlier this month.
It is understood an unknown male, who was jogging in JJ Holland Park on Childers Street, yelled an offensive slur at a 34-year-old man about 4.20pm on Friday, 2 January.
The victim, who was walking his dogs at the time of the incident, managed to take a photo of the male before he fled the scene on foot.
The man is perceived to be Caucasian in appearance and is thought to be aged in his 50s, with a shaved head.
He was seen wearing dark coloured running shorts.
It is believed that he regularly attends the reserve.
Investigators have released CCTV of a man who may be able to assist with their enquiries.
I still can’t get over that report about the man who said something so terrible it warranted charges, but the usual swear words had to be censored, while the one that led to this circus—the crime, so to speak. That’s like blurring out the gun while allowing the public to see the graphic images of blood and dead bodies for a homicide.
