This is AWFUL!!! And in NYC of all places!!!

Ex-`Top Chef' contestant is attacked

Wed Sep 12, 8:56 AM ET

SEA CLIFF, N.Y. - A former contestant on Bravo's "Top Chef" was beaten by attackers yelling anti-gay slurs, her lawyer said.


Josie Smith-Malave, who was featured on the second season of the reality show, was among a small group of women who were asked to leave a Sea Cliff bar over Labor Day weekend, lawyer Yetta Kurland said Tuesday.

About 10 young people followed the women and began screaming anti-gay epithets, spitting on them and then beating them, Kurland said.

Smith-Malave, who is in her early 30s, is openly gay, Kurland said.

Nassau County police said they were investigating, but declined to provide details of the incident.

Smith-Malave, a Miami native, is a former sous-chef for Marlow and Sons restaurant in Brooklyn. She has played for the New York Sharks of the Independent Women's Football League.