It's always interesting to look at which stories nabbed the most clicks in a given year. From a momentous coming out, to a woman biffing a can of paint at a gay sauna, here are some of the stories which grabbed your attention in 2014. Attack was "pure hatred" - Ivy manager In August manager of Wellington’s Ivy Bar Steven Mawhinney reported he’d suffered violence after a group of out-of-towners wandered into the gay venue “not realising what sort of bar it was”. It led to anti-gay slurs and violence that is still before the courts in the form of an assault charge against one man. “To be honest, I’m 30 now and I’ve been out since I was 17. This is the worst thing I have seen in my life. The hatred. That’s the only way I could describe the way these guys were. They had pure hatred for anyone that they presumed to be gay,” Mawhinney told us at the time. NZ rower: I am proud and glad to be gay New Zealand Olympian Robbie Manson came out to the world in November, with the powerful message that he hoped it his story would show "not only that it's ok to be gay, but it's a good thing, and it won't change who you are or limit what you can achieve." He says he wouldn't want to be any other way. "I think it makes me more interesting, and it's something that does make me different in a good way. I learned that I'm a lot stronger and more resilient than I gave myself credit for, and that other people are far more accepting than I thought they would be.” Woman hurls paint at gay sauna One of our odder stories this year was footage of a woman sauntering up to gay Auckland sauna Centurian, hurling a can of paint in its doorway, calmly popping the can into her handbag, and walking away. An anti-gay crusader? An angry wife? We may never know, but it sure was strange. What is clear is that the venue's manager Gabriel Clifton's response was hilarious: “I've dealt with enough of these morons in my life that I am not affected by it. But I am really annoyed that she used a boring off-white. I would have much preferred fluorescent green.” MKR flatmates Sam and Dan speak out It was a big year for gay and lesbian New Zealanders on reality TV. One of the most talked about pairings was ‘social media buddies’ Sam and Dan on My Kitchen Rules. Speculation about their sexuality was rife, both on the show and off it, leaving Sam to explain "It's kind of awkward … I'm gay, Dan's not." A pair of Wellington exes doing Masterchef together was another popular reality TV yarn – but wow didn’t that all boil over at the end! Lorde fans counter Westboro's picket Those geniuses at Westboro Baptist Church decided to take on Lorde because they thought her name implied she thought she was the second coming of Jesus or something. Well aware of their homophobic hate, our own Ella urged fans to kiss people of the same sex when the church picketed her Kansas City show, and Lorde-ites came to the party like a little rainbow army. Waiter bares heart in search for man The ‘naaawww’ moment of the year was when Auckland waiter Rupert Bear took to social media in the hunt for a man who stole his heart when he came into the pizzeria where he works. “Three weeks ago I served you pizza and a coffee. And I told you your shoelace was undone,” he said. Seems like Rupert is still waiting for that call … despite his plea being shared all over the globe. Gabe writes: "Enough is enough" Centurian manager Gabriel Clifton made our top stories list twice (see paint story above). The second was in November when he bravely came out as trans to call out all those who have sent him hate mail and gossiped behind his back. The response was as powerful as his words, with people from across our communities rushing to express their disgust and support. He was grateful, but made it clear the best thing people can do is ‘politely’ stand up to people they witness bullying others. Gay worker mocked, called a "fucking faggot" Blatantly homophobic Employment Relations Authority cases are pretty rare in our modern times, but this one really did seem like it came from another era. So, perhaps unsurprisingly, the man was awarded $13,000 in compensation. Brian Tamaki in apparent gay turnaround So hang on, what, Destiny Church is gay friendly now? In a world far, far away from the Enough is Enough march against civil unions, apparently the church is now welcoming all creatures gay and straight. He doesn’t talk to us, but Brian Tamaki told Seven Sharp it’s because “We all grow and we mature hopefully into better people. It’s just defined and refined for me as a leader.” 'Commit suicide' pastor wants gays killed One church where you can be sure gay people are not welcome is that of extremist, gay-hating west Auckland pastor Logan Robertson who not only prayed for Auckland writer Jim Marjoram to kill himself, but also thinks that if our government was ‘righteous’ it would be putting us all to death. Trans woman seriously injured in P. North The mystery head injuries received by trans woman Angel Rangitaawa in Palmerston North left her in a coma and sparked fears among her family members she had been attacked. It turned out she had unfortunately fallen from a tree. We can report Angel has made a great recovery after her frightening near death experience. Other big hitters: Our look at some of the trans models around the world was a popular piece, as was the story of Zakk d’Larté. A look at New Zealand men raffling their ‘meat packs’ for World AIDS Day also proved popular, as did the tale of a Blenheim pair upset after their porn vid leaked online. The winning Auckland Pride Parade float drew heaps of views, while the sad and sudden death of HIV/AIDS pioneer Charles Farthing left many in shock. GayNZ.com staff - 29th December 2014