David Ermold and David Moore say they never intended to make Kim Davis a household name. In fact, if they turn back time and undo everything, they probably would.
“We’re … complicit in her fame,” Moore recently told GQ in an interview. “We’re the ones who filmed her originally.”
Related: Kim Davis Loses Yet Again, Won’t Be Named Time’s Person Of The Year
Ermold and Moore had been together for 17 years when they went to apply for a marriage license from Davis after the Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality in June. They had heard rumors that she was refusing to issue licenses to same-sex couples, but they hoped to change her mind.
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“I thought if she could see us and talk to us, maybe she would go home and think about the people she’s affecting,” Moore recalled. “We decided we were going to go in and document it.”
When they uploaded the video online a few days later, it quickly went viral.
“I put it up around 11 at night,” Moore explained. “The next morning, Gawker had it, and then The Advocate was running it. By the time I got up, it already had 200,000 hits.”
And the rest is history.
Related: Kim Davis Has Made Jennifer Lawrence Embarrassed To Say She’s From Kentucky
Moore says the unexpected attention was “overwhelming” and “freaked me out.” But it wasn’t until Davis was arrested that he realized just how out-of-control things had become.
“This is not what we wanted,” Moore remembered saying. “When we saw the mug shot—it literally looks like somebody’s mother is being arrested.”
“Then Mike Huckabee comes down and creates a martyr of Davis,” Ermold added. “They took her picture with her hair down in a braid, and her husband was in bib overalls, the whole thing. They staged these photo opportunities for her.”
Related: Even Mormons Hate Kim Davis
Ermold went on to express sadness for Davis.
“She’s being used,” he said. “When this is all said and done, if she still has that job, she’s gonna be sitting in her office, and she’s gonna be alienated. I don’t think she’ll get re-elected.”
Ultimately, both men say the experience made them finally confront the humiliation they had been suffering as gay men for their entire lives.
“We’ve been desensitized to the humiliation,” Moore said. “We had a mirror held up and realized, okay, this was happening all this time, but we just ignored it. We just let people treat us this way all this time.”
“That’s what’s the hardest thing about it all: the reminder that you’ve been letting it happen for so long,” Ermold added.
Related: Kim Davis Admits She Loves The Attention, Accuses Americans Of Being Intolerant
Eric Hufford
Then why keep talking about her?
Frank Vaca
We all start out with good intentions.
Raúl Hernández
They did not make her famous. The media did.
Cam
So what, they did what they needed to do to force the county to abide by the law. Davis being famous for fame’s sake, is a small price to pay for the fact that not only did she lose, but the case involving her legally prevents anybody else from trying to do what she did without much quicker legal remedies.
Davis is old news, just another bigot who through her hypocrisy, bigotry, and uneducated, ignorant defenses of why her behavior is ok, but everybody else’s isn’t actually help civil rights.
She is the worst type of representative for bigots, and every time somebody like her gets highlighted and then exposed it brings more people over to supporting LGBT rights.
So for the Kentucky couple, congratulations on your marriage, live long happy lives, and be proud of what you ended up accomplishing.
Alistair Wiseman
Imagine, Queerty with another Kim Davis story.
Queerty is still trolling for those ‘clicks’.
ingyaom
They (or the media) made Davis famous, but not in a good way. Davis is famous for being a bigoted, ignorant hypocrite – someone who thinks her job is to enforce “god’s law” by denying marriage to gay couples, but not having to follow it herself by getting divorced three times. I’m glad her bigotry and hypocrisy was exposed on a national scale.
Masc Pride
These guys shouldn’t feel too bad because Queerty and other LGB gossip blogs have done WAAAAY more to keep that woman’s name relevant.
@ingyaom: People don’t really care if they’re famous for something negative anymore. 15 minutes is 15 minutes these days. However, it hasn’t been all bad for Davis because her supporters are always looking to throw money her way.
AtticusBennett
they are right. and kim davis is being used. the most corrupt politicians have used her for their own appalling purposes, and it’ll do nothing but cement her place as a shameful footnote in America’s long and sordid history of affronts to human rights and decency.
mark my word – one day, her grave will be a popular site to urinate on.
Gigi Gee
They fought for the right to get married. The media and Christianists like Huckabee made a martyr out of Davis. They used her and when they were done with her, they tossed her aside. Time to move on.
Leonard Woodrow
KD is a silly cow who needed showing up for her bigotry. Don’t regret what you did guys, infamous people like her only help our case in the long run!
OhHellNo
The sentiment is appreciated, David + David (obscure 80s music reference, anyone?), but don’t worry about Kim’s livelihood. It’s Kentucky – not only will she get re-elected, they probably have a statue of her ready for the day they repeal gay marriage (because, again, it’s Kentucky – they’re stupid enough to think gay marriage will be repealed).
Bad Ass Biker
@Leonard Woodrow: I agree completely. Although this may have gone much beyond what they anticipated, it was time for the lid on this simmering cauldron of hatred, stupidity and bigotry to be lifted and exposed to the country. And I have always felt that KD was not so much filled with hatred as just plain damned stupidity.
Kieran
There is a difference between being “famous” and “infamous”.
Kim Davis falls in the infamous category.
Giancarlo85
@Alistair Wiseman: Oh that’s nice. You are excusing more republican malfeasance in public offices. She took an oath of office. It is hilarious you don’t care about accountability and the constitution. Republicans like you piss on the constitution.
This gay couple should never feel ashamed exposing a criminal public official refusing to do their job.
BJ McFrisky
@Masc Pride: Twenty-nine stories and counting on this website alone. But it’s, you know, the fault of Republicans, or something.
trell
They shouldn’t feel sorry for what they did.
The positive outcome of this was simply that one more nasty little bigot got her come-uppance.
Hopefully these two guys can move on now that the media storm is (finally) losing traction, and they can find another more accepting pastor to marry them…if they havent done so already
silveroracle
Does someone have an OFF button for this subject.
Sick of hearing about her.
alphacentauri
@Eric Hufford: Exactly.
Tombear
I hope this helps! If Christ was incarnate I am sure he would have dinner with us homosexuals before he even talked to Kim Davis and her ilk. Christ made friends with guys like us and the only thing he did was love us as human beings. Christ didn’t like people like Kim Davis or Huckabilly or Pat Robertson or any of these other false prophets who dehumanize gay people. He loves us and would eat at our table any day before he would the people I have already mentioned. For you gay people who have forsaken Christ don’t. Just forsake these morons who are fundamentalist and Evangelical Christians! Christ looks down on them! Christ is on our side and the proof is all the rights we have gained in the past year!
scotty
it is just the rule of unintended consequences. someone had to out the vindictive bitch.
Bob LaBlah
Here’s what I don’t get. Why haven’t they filed a lawsuit against her or the county? That bullshit should not go unpunished and the symbol alone would say to all bigots everywhere “the law is the law, now do your damn job or resign.”
What’s the hold up fellows?
Jack Gearing
It’s not your fault the media made her name famous. We are all glad you did what you did
Jay A. Scaramazzo
John Kuehnle
Next
David Ermold
NO. This article originated from LGBTQ Nation, and we were not portrayed accurately. This was our response to this article:
Derek de Koff and Editors at LGBTQ Nation,
My name is David Ermold and my husband’s name is David Moore. We are the couple which you have written about in the article, “The gay couple who turned Kim Davis into a celebrity: ‘This is not what we wanted.” While you do use accurate quotations from a GQ article we interviewed for over a month ago, the interpretation you provide to your readers is wholly inaccurate. Neither David nor I have ever stated to any media outlet that “if we could undo everything that happened, we probably would.” We do not agree with that sentiment. To clarify, we feel that jailing Davis was not the answer. Instead, the Attorney General of Kentucky should have prosecuted Davis at the state level and charged her with Official Misconduct, which is a misdemeanor in Kentucky. This would have effectively removed her from office. What you have posted sends the wrong message to LGBTQ youth and the entire LGBTQ community.
We posted the video of our struggle to obtain a marriage license to show the bigotry and hatred that gay people, like ourselves, must endure on a daily basis, and it should not be tolerated or accepted by anyone. It certainly shouldn’t be accepted from people in government positions. Stating that “David and I would undo everything if we could” undermines the message that LGBTQ people should be proud of who they are, and that they should stand for equal treatment in society. It undermines our fight for equality, and it suggests that we sympathize with Davis and those that feel similarly. This could not be any farther from the truth. We do NOT sympathize with Davis’ position that religious bigotry is acceptable in society. We feel quite the opposite, and we feel a retraction on your part is in order. If you wanted to interview us for your story, all you needed to do was to message one of us on facebook, and we would have happily answered your questions and clarified any concerns you may have had about our GQ interview.
I humbly ask that you print this letter and a retraction on your website in regards to the article you have posted about us. Lastly, I want to say to the entire LGBTQ community: Be confident and proud of who you are. Enjoy life to the fullest, and never give up fighting for what is right.
Sincerely,
David Ermold
David Ermold
@Bob LaBlah: We did. Ermold et al v. Davis et al
Bob LaBlah
@David Ermold: Good for you and I hope you guys win, which I am sure you will. Her being a smart ass will soon come back to haunt her and hopefully end with her being booted out of that position which she is unsuited for due to her views. My sincerest hope is that you have Perry Mason’s reincarnation representing you and he crucifies that ol’ whore and her beliefs (or lies, take your pick) on that witness stand.
The law of the land is the law of the land. Case closed. Jury dismissed.
Xwards
Living well is the best revenge.
scotshot
@BJ McFrisky: I understand what you’re saying, it’s a lot easier to conduct your hateful acts behind closed doors.
Kevin Wotipka
Well, it’s what we got.
DarkZephyr
@BJ McFrisky: But aren’t the Republicans the subjects OF the stories? If they weren’t doing anti-gay news worthy things, then there wouldn’t be any anti-gay news about them to report. Why do you act like this anti-Republican sentiment forms in a vacuum. Tell me. Do you HONESTLY believe that the Republican party is 100% innocent of homophobia? *Honestly*?
Giancarlo85
@BJ McFrisky: You take idiocy to completely new levels. Republicans are destroying this country bit by bit and dividing this entire nation with their hateful politics. And yet you continue to turn a blind eye to it.
dubstepskater
Ok, I’ll probably lose my G-card (and get some bead comments) for saying this, but… I feel sorry for Kim Davis. No, not because she is hated by “pretty much” everyone. But because she doesn’t know any better. For all we know, she was raised to discriminate against gays. For example, if her parents taught her to think less of a group of people (gays, blacks, poor, etc…), then that’s all she knows. Not saying it’s right, but still…. And People like Huckabee or Hillbilly or whatever his name is even worse than her because he just used her to get his 15 minutes of fame (at least she had her religion to “justify” her involvement). I was always taught to love my friends and love my enemies even more (isn’t that what the Bible/ God teaches us?) Now I’m not saying what she done is right (because I would like to find a good man to marry one day too) but she is “sort of” a victim herself (her parents may have taught her that gays weren’t human beings too… or something like that) And if we hate her simply because she doesn’t think like us (gays), doesn’t that make us like her (and all the others like her)? Now, I’m not saying that I support her actions in any way (because I don’t) but I would rather forgive her for her intolerance because that’s what I think God’s Word means. Now, as for the legal part…. Yes I think she should be removed from her position and yes… sued for lying (that’s how she got elected, wasn’t it?) And yes, I think that her 15 minutes is waaaay over and she isn’t even irrelevant anymore. But, she’s probably seeing that she made a fool out of herself and maybe wishing she could go back and do things differently too… And I am glad that the whole “Gay Marriage” issue was brought to light, just not this way… But maybe this will show others like her that we are tired of being bullied and neglected and treated like we (gays) are important… Who knows, maybe Kim will see things differently now. If not, then “Oh well… at least she got her name mentioned.” Maybe her children will learn from her mistake and not go down the same path… Or their children… Eventually (hopefully) the World will tolerate everybody, no matter race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc…. Then we won’t have Wars and stuff… One can hope, right???
Jerry P Davis
Gays, in general, made her famous. Any of the frequent articles about her on Queerty get more responses than any other topic.
BJ McFrisky
@DarkZephyr: Of course I don’t think that no Republican has ever exhibited homophobic thoughts or actions—that would be as ridiculous as stating that all Democrats are rainbow-flag-waving supporters of all things gay.
Common sense wins again.
GayEGO
I believe INFAMOUS is a better description of Kim Davis, and by the way, I haven’t heard much about her lately.
Giancarlo85
@BJ McFrisky: Except the republican party is a party that advocates homophobia, division and recessions as part of its national agenda (they just don’t say it outright). Funny how whenever republicans take the White House, the nation slides off into a recession. Last time we had disastrous republicans we nearly had another Great Depression.
dwbyers1960
Further evidence that shows homosexuality is a mental illness.
Giancarlo85
@dwbyers1960: Wrong. You are the one with a mental illness though. It is called being a conservative. What are you doing on this site anyways, you wretched miserable man?
Masc Pride
@David Ermold: Wow, they totally manipulated you and your husband’s story. The levels some people in this community will stoop to just to prove their latest argument. Truly shameless. I doubt you’ll get that retraction, but glad to see you guys got a chance to set the record straight.
I’ve also noticed that Queerty’s top stories of the day are the exact same top stories on LGBTQ Nation. Seems a bit lazy. If it’s any consolation, I believe very little of what I read on either.
Bob LaBlah
@dubstepskater: “Ok, I’ll probably lose my G-card (and get some bead comments) for saying this, but… I feel sorry for Kim Davis.”
Honey, your feelings are your feelings but I strongly recommend that you reconsider feeling sorry for this ol’ drunken whore who ain’t fooling me one damn bit. You guys up north, obviously. But us from the south, no way, jose. We see right thru her ass.
This is a woman who didn’t have a pretty upbringing. I could see her as an ugly teen who begged the high school loser to take her to the prom. I can see her in her early twenties going home with any man who would have her, with the majority ending in one night stands. The ones she hooked up with were no doubt the ne’er-do-well types who lived in the back of hatchbacks on pickup trucks until they met a lowlife like her and stayed till they got tired or found another fool at the local honky-tonk, which I am shocked at how many still exist. Those places are still packed with low-life Kim Davis-ish type of poor white trash still running up and down the damn road with other middle-aged losers such as herself who couldn’t hang on to their husbands/man either. They sit in those joints night after night waiting for some ol’ drunk bum to ask them to marry them on the second or third date. Trust me, when they talk about welf………….anyway, get over feeling sorry for shit like her.
It is not your nor my fault shit like her is still being bred. At least NOW you know the root cause of how they are formed by the time they reach her age and why they take their frustration out on gay men. Why the hell should we be happy while she is frustrated and going home to a man who won’t even go grocery shopping with the money SHE gave him to buy the groceries with? Hangovers do cause that type of behavior. Her eyes and that dismissive attitude of hers is the dead give away, not that I am saying her hairdo isn’t another clue. All that damn media attention and that ol’ low-life whore never found the way to the beauty parlor tells you what?
DarkZephyr
@BJ McFrisky: You didn’t fully answer my question, do you feel that all of this anti-republican sentiment among LGBT people formed in a vacuum?
David Ermold
I have asked Qweerty twice now to take out the line, “In fact, if they turn back time and undo everything, they probably would.” Neither David nor I feel this way, and it was misinterpreted by the writer of the LGBTQ Nation story. We were not interviewed by LGBTQ Nation, nor Qweerty.
We would not undo anything. We simply don’t believe jailing Davis was the answer. We feel that the Kentucky Attorney General should have prosecuted Davis for violating Kentucky statute. This would have removed her from office.
ONCE AGAIN, QWEERTY, UPDATE YOUR STORY. LGBTQ NATION UPDATED THEIR STORY WITH CORRECT INFORMATION, WHY ARE YOU NOT DOING THE SAME?
Giancarlo85
@David Ermold: I urge you to email them. I believe there is a contact page. If they don’t remove it, you could take a legal remedy. You have a right to voice your thoughts in an accurate way.
DarkZephyr
@David Ermold: Seems like Queerty is currently asleep at the wheel. I don’t think they have seen your request, but perhaps once they see it they will make the proper changes. I hope they do anyway!
woodroad34
I still think it’s a good idea. People need to realize that with all the recent good luck we’ve had, there are still people out there who are not capable of making mature decisions because they hide behind their religion too much. Religion had been and should be still, a personal exercise to make one a better person, not to foist that practice on other people and to stop one from growing up–it’s become a crutch. The ugliness of Kim Davis and Sarah Palin, Matt Staver, Ben Carson, Huckabee, Cruz, et al have made them icons, not heroes, of what’s wrong and cancerous in America — not unlike the swastika, the sickle and hammer, the upside down burning cross, or the fat politician smoking a cigar and throwing money at his gangster supporters–or raising their hands at a rally after they’ve been released from prison.