You’re telling us we STILL haven’t left this homophobia in the past???
Sadly, discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community is nothing new, but we really hoped refusing service to gay couples was becoming a distant wedding-nightmare memory. Clearly we were setting our expectations too high, because Jonathan Bennett recently revealed that wasn’t the case.
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The Mean Girls star sat down with his fiancé Jaymes Vaughn to discuss their upcoming nuptials with The Knot. When asked about finding vendors that “align with their values,” the actor revealed:
“This has been the most important factor in deciding what our wedding looks like. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, you don’t just need to feel safe — you need to feel celebrated. For years, we planned to get married at Palace Resorts in Mexico. When we got engaged, the owner said he couldn’t marry us because we’re two men and it goes against his morals.”
WTF!
What an awful experience. Good for him for calling them out by name! The 39-year-old continued:
“That was a sucker punch to the gut. We decided in that moment that our wedding was bigger than us. It’s our wedding, but it isn’t just about us. It’s about the LGBTQ+ community. We’re really making a point to make this wedding very loud on purpose.”
Luckily, the couple found a venue that embraced them and their ideas for the big day. Jonathan went on to say:
“We want to make sure that there’s never a moment during the engagement or wedding planning journey that LGBTQ+ people aren’t excited. We want to make sure that they are celebrated every moment and don’t feel a sense of otherness. The otherness needs to be removed from gay weddings.”
That’s a lot of pressure to put on one wedding, but a noble goal nonetheless! Jaymes reflected:
“Visibility is so doggone important. I always think about what could have saved me so much hurt and so much heartache, and it’s just visibility. I make a point to share our love a lot on Instagram, to show that we have this relationship full of love and support and it’s healthy. People need to know that healthy love exists out there. And if you see it, you realize you too can have it.”
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The Cake Wars host added:
“I want to make sure that through this whole process of our love and wedding, and building our family, that we are trailblazing for the LGBTQ+ community. I want everyone to realize that they are never too much, and they’re always enough. That’s my mission in life. You’re never too much. And you’re always enough. You just being you is enough.”
Incredible message. We’re sorry they had that experience, but it sounds like they’re turning their wedding into a truly joyful, love-filled event. We hope it’s everything they want and more!
[Image via Jaymes Vaughn/Instagram]
The post <i>Mean Girls</i>' Jonathan Bennett Says He Was Turned Away From Wedding Venue For Being Gay appeared first on Perez Hilton.
