LGBTQ icon/OnlyFans performer/activist/entrepeneur and co-host of the popular queer reality show Slag Wars Matthew Camp was recently the target of a horrific arson attack, in which his Poughkeepsie home was set ablaze while he and his partner slept inside. They managed to get out with seconds to spare, but lost everything.
Speaking to NewNowNext from an undisclosed location as the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department investigates the apparent hate crime, Camp remembers having no time to think. “I couldn’t see an inch in front of my space from all the smoke,” he says. “There was fire everywhere. Whoever did this knew we were inside.”
Thankfully, Camp and his partner Six Carter did escape…just in time to watch their home turn to ash over the course of three hours: “I just stood there watching the house burn to the ground, like, ‘What is happening?’”
Within days of the fire, Camp and Carter’s friends and family set up two separate GoFundMe pages, one for each victim. Says Camp: “I’m so humbled by all of the support. We haven’t even finished figuring out how much everything will cost — but it’s a huge undertaking. It’s hard to wrap my head around still.”
Although losing his house is an additional monetary burden during a pandemic that has already devastated the adult-film industry, Camp stresses that the arson was so much more than a financial hit. “[Carter and I] haven’t slept more than a few hours since it happened,” he confesses. “Money can’t fix that. It’s scary, all the unknowns. I hope it gets easier, but right now I just bounce between [feeling] anxious and numb. The shock hasn’t worn off, I guess.”
Despite the traumatic situation, Camp is trying to resist letting his attacker win.
“I’m trying to find the bright spots,” he says. “The overwhelming response from people and all of the kindness has really helped. It’s times like these that you remember why being queer is so powerful. It’s the community, right?”
Read the whole interview here.
