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Josie Smith-Malave, 32 according to her bio on the Web site of the Bravo reality show, was with a small group of women who were asked to leave a bar in Sea Cliff, N.Y., over Labor Day weekend, her lawyer Yetta Kurland said Tuesday.
Kurland, who says Smith-Malave – a second-season contestant on Top Chef – is openly gay, said that about 10 people followed the women from the bar and started to shout anti-gay epithets and spit on them before beating them up.
Nassau County police said the case is under investigation, but they declined to provide details of the incident.
Smith-Malave, a Miami native, is a former sous-chef for Brooklyn's Marlow and Sons restaurant and worked at Manhattan's Lever House, on Park Avenue, according to Bravo.
In her bio, when asked if she had a lucky charm of any kind during the competition, Smith-Malave replied: "Yes, my cross necklace and heart pendant and, of course, my Bible."
