A chef who starred in a Netflix series heroically defended herself at a San Francisco liquor store after a homeless man allegedly called her a racial slur.
Wendy Drew, who appeared on the hit show ‘You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment’, was leaving Café Terminus at 9.30pm on Sunday 1st September, when a stranger began ranting expletives in her direction.
“I’m on the phone with my mom and this normal-looking guy walking his dog walks by and calls me the N-word,” Drew said. Cable TV.
“Why do you call me that?” the famous chef replied.
A black chef who starred in a Netflix series heroically defended herself at a San Francisco liquor store after a homeless man allegedly called her a racial slur.
Wendy Drew, who appeared on the hit show ‘You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment’, defended herself against the man who called her a racial slur.
“Then he turns around and starts hitting me in the head. He punched me in the head like three times. I told him, ‘You’re not going to get away with this if you hit me,'” she said. The San Francisco Standard.
Drew managed to push the man into a liquor store on Drumm Street, where he asked passersby to call 911 as he exchanged blows with the man.
A surveillance video from inside the restaurant showed the chef bravely holding the attacker, who unleashed a volley of violent blows aimed at his face.
From the images, authorities were able to identify the man as Irvin Rivera-Lara, 31, a homeless individual with a history of violence.
Drew managed to push the man into a liquor store on Drumm Street, where he asked passersby to call 911 as he exchanged blows with the man.
In the video, as Drew and Rivera-Lara wrestled near a refrigerator, a customer can be seen approaching and pepper-spraying the attacker in the face.
The homeless man then grabbed the chef’s hair and the two continued to hit each other until they fell behind the cash register.
Rivera-Lara tried to get up, but Drew held on tightly to his body. Meanwhile, the homeless man’s dog was nearby and barking excitedly.
“I basically hugged him really hard. I put my legs around him and he kept trying to get away,” the Netflix star told The San Francisco Standard.
“His dog walked by. I thought the dog wanted to bite me, but the poor animal was licking my face,” he continued. “I released my grip and that’s when he started repeatedly hitting me in the face.”
According to Drew, her attacker tried to tell police he was acting in self-defense, but was quickly dismissed by an officer who said, “I don’t believe that nonsense.”
Surveillance video from inside the store showed the chef bravely holding off the attacker, who unleashed a barrage of violent blows aimed at his face.
In the footage, Rivera-Lara can be seen finally managing to get to her feet. She then leaned over Drew and unleashed a flurry of wild punches that hit her in the face.
But the iron-willed chef refused to give in. She stood up and staggered toward the door, where she tried to block the attacker’s exit.
After a violent fight, Rivera-Lara managed to push Drew aside and leave the store.
But she followed him outside and said, “You’re not getting away. You’re going to jail today.”
She then managed to attract the attention of her boyfriend and other men who ran out of the Café Terminus and held Rivera-Lara until the authorities arrived.
According to Drew, her attacker tried to tell police he was acting in self-defense, but was quickly dismissed by an officer, who said, “I don’t believe that nonsense.”
The attack left the chef with a badly injured face. At the hospital, she had to have a bleeding wound glued shut and was given a tetanus shot.
“I also suffered a concussion and broke my nose. I may need surgery, they’re not sure yet,” he said. The San Francisco Standard.
The attack left the chef with a badly injured face. At the hospital, she had to have a bleeding wound glued shut and was given a tetanus shot.
When Drew first saw Rivera-Lara, he thought he looked like “a tech guy” and was shocked to learn he was a homeless man with a violent history.
“He looked like someone who was walking his dog,” she said. “It turned out he was homeless. At first glance, he didn’t seem to have any mental problems.”
Rivera-Lara has been arrested on suspicion of assault likely to cause serious bodily injury, committing a hate crime and providing false information to an officer.
Last year, he was arrested on suspicion of attacking the owner of a Haight Street sandwich shop who had confronted him for urinating in the trash near his business.
