Reporting on the Dustin Lance Black and Tom Daley wedding on Sunday, The Daily Express made a highly ill-advised editorial decision and put the word “marry” in quotes:
“Tom Daley, 22, and Dustin Lance Black, 42, ‘MARRY’ in romantic Romeo and Juliet ceremony.”
Many readers were outraged over the headline, which looked to be undermining the idea of same-sex marriage.
As Attitude points out, the tabloid certainly doesn’t use air quotes when discussing heterosexual marriage:
They’ve since changed the headline, but not before the original version was widely shared on social media.
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Related: Tom Daley is a married man, ties the knot with Dustin Lance Black over the weekend
On Monday, Daley posted a heartfelt message to Instagram, expressing his awe at the ceremony:
He wrote:
On 6th May 2017, I married the love of my life, @dlanceblack. We shared the day with 120 of our closest friends and family, from Texarkana to Plymouth! Thank you to everyone who made this weekend the most special weekend of our lives!
The guys exchanged vows at Bovey Castle Hotel in Dartmoor National Park in Devon before 120 of their closest friends and family members on Saturday.
According to Mirror Online, the grooms had their personalities “stamped on every detail” of the day, including a multi-tiered wedding cake that Daley made himself.
A local source told the Plymouth Herald, “It was a beautiful ceremony, their vows were so brilliant and heartfelt.”
'A more intimate moment… of him and Tom clasping hands' Ok Daily Mail, you can say 'cuddling' #CutestCoupleAward https://t.co/bmuj3wSFMq
— Bee ? (@beecullen) May 8, 2017
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Meh-trimony. Daley’s cake is the only interesting detail I wanna focus on (never thought I’d ever say that)
walterhpdx
This is why we have to keep up the fight. No resting on our laurels, no sitting back and saying, “Oh, someone will take care of this.” Because we didn’t fight this fight just to be marginalized. We fought it for what is just and right.
captainburrito
It’s the Daily Express, you’ll have to give them another decade or 2.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Can’t find pics of cake. These people are so dull they can’t even see the rare genuinely interesting things they do
Jack Meoff
Everyone seems to of overlooked the other part of that headline ‘romantic Romeo & Juliet ceremony’. Was that the writers attempt to feminise one of these men?
Texasholdem
Jack, the wedding ceremony included a speech from Romeo and Juliet on a balcony. Daley tweeted the hashtag #noromeo so no the writer wasn’t trying to feminize them.
jayceecook
@Jack Meoff
No they weren’t trying to feminize them. There was a rumor that Tom
reenacted the “balcony” scene from the play which turned out to be just that.
“Also, The Sun’s reporting on this was hilariously wrong. A guest shouting out the window to a friend in the parking lot got mistranslated into reports of Tom enacting the R&J balcony scene.”
That’s why there is the #NoRomeo in Tom’s Instagram post above in this article.
Heywood Jablowme
@Texasholdem: Thanks for explaining. I was worried they committed suicide at the end like Romeo & Juliet.
broadshoulder
The Daily Express is a fascist rag
Kangol
Barely veiled homophobia, but does anyone expect any less from the trashy *Daily Right-wing Express*? Just Google their name and “controversy,” and you’ll see.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
That plum(?) colour is gonna date so quickly. Always best to go with timeless classics to avoid the wedding photo cringe
natosio
Correction, guys—they’re “air quotes” only when you do them in conversation, by wiggling fingers on both hands. In print, they’re called “scare quotes” or “shudder quotes.”