Two transgender women who beat up and stamped on a teenager who mocked them have admitted it was an ‘overreaction’.
Tamzin Lush, 29, and Tylah Bryan, 24, were filmed attacking the teen at Leicester Square tube station in June 2018.
They drop-kicked Al Shabeeb, 19, after he told them: ‘You need a fanny to be a woman.’
The pair, together with a third transgender woman, Amarnih Lewis-Daniel, 24, walked free from court after a judge granted them leniency.
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Speaking out about the incident, Lush and Bryan admitted the attack was ‘entirely wrong’ and was spurred on by alcohol.
They said they faced transphobic abuse every day, and although they regretted their actions they said the victim’s abuse was ‘extreme’.
Bryan, from Barking, east London, said: ‘You get people that make passing comments and by the time they’ve said anything, they’re gone – they keep walking.
‘We were telling him to jog on and leave us alone. This guy was adamant to let us know his beliefs and it wasn’t just a passing comment.
‘We got frustrated and it led to us going too far. It was an instant regret. I held my hands up straight away. We took it too far.
‘We had too much to drink, if we hadn’t drunk so much we would have been able to defuse the situation.’
A court heard Lush ‘drop-kicked’ the teenager inside the tube station with the subsequent assault filmed by ‘laughing’ members of the public.
The three transgender women can be seen in the footage stamping on Mr Shabeeb as he lay on the floor.
Lush, from Romford, east London, added: ‘This could have been avoided if I just kept myself to myself.
‘I didn’t think I was capable of something so vile. My body just went into overdrive and I just couldn’t stop. If I could take it back, I would. It was too far.’
But they said transphobic abuse is rife in Britain and hearing about violence against transgender women made them ‘automatically more defensive’.
Bryan said: ‘I used to feel upset or like everyone was attacking me, and whether transitioning was right for me.
‘There’s been times before where people have been quite physical towards me. Hate crimes towards trans people have quadrupled in the last five years, which is just unreal.
‘It makes you feel a little bit nervous and worried you could be on the receiving end of things. You have to be very alert.’
The women were granted leniency by a judge who heard they faced ‘offensive, transphobic and abusive’ language.
Lush and Bryan, who admitted violent disorder, were handed 12-month community orders plus a six-month curfew, while Lewis-Daniel was given 20 days of rehabilitation activity requirements.
Bryan’s sister Hannah Bryan, 26, who tried to break up the fight, also admitted one count of causing fear or provocation of violence and was given a conditional discharge.
Sentencing them, Judge Nigel Seed QC said: ‘Had it not been for the victim in this case, there probably would have been no incident.
‘I accept that what happened to you in the beginning of this incident is entirely wrong, and people like you should not be subjected to that sort of abuse in public or anywhere.
‘You are being punished for your overreaction to someone who has escaped punishment altogether.’
The women are now advising people to walk away if others find themselves in a similar situation.
Bryan said: ‘If someone is bothering you and they are not leaving you alone, you have to report it, pick up your phone and dial for help.
‘Don’t try and argue, you don’t know what that other person is going to do. Just try and walk away from the situation. If you entertain it, it’s only going to get worse.’
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