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When French fashion designer, Simon Porte Jacquemus, shared a photo [above] of himself kissing his husband on Monday, he probably thought it would be little more than a sweet Valentine’s gesture.
Some of the comments it provoked shocked him.
Simon’s label, Jacquemus, is known for its clothing, bags, earrings and sunglasses. It takes a pro-LGBTQ stance and has used same-sex couples in its marketing campaign.
Related: Pete Buttigieg, Billy Porter, Colton Underwood and others celebrate Valentines
The photo shows Simon kissing his husband Marco Maestri beside a swimming pool. Posted to the label’s official Instagram on Monday (with its 4.2million followers), it’s prompted over half a million likes.
However, many of the initial commentators posted vomiting emojis, prompting Simon Porte Jacquemus to post a follow-up response. He took a screenshot of one person saying she’d previously been looking forward to buying one of his bags, but the photo made her feel sick.
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Simon, 32, responded, “My bag don’t want you.”
In a caption, he reiterated the message, saying lots of gay people worked for the brand, and “I don’t need your homophobic point of view. And my bags don’t need you.”
On his Instagram stories, Simon showed further screenshots of people posting vomiting emojis. He posted a message saying, “I’m happy we having somehow this painful conversation. I grew up whiteout [sic] gay couple figure and I know how is important to be one of the example for the young kids out there.
“We will fight for them, to show that love always wins. I will keep posting pictures of love. Always. You are beautiful never forget that.”
Simon and Marco married in June 2021, after four years of dating. Jacquemus, which Simon founded at the age of 20, has numerous celebrity clients. Megan Fox and Kendall Jenner have both modeled for it. Bella and Gigi Hadid were among those to post heart emojis under Simon’s Valentine’s posting.
Related: Gay fashion designer Olivier Rousteing suffers horrific injuries in home explosion
Simon has often posted photos with his husband on Instagram. Here’s one from Valentine’s last year.
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And one from Marco (in the front of the shot).
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And vacationing together (Simon on the left and Marco on the right).
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JessPH
Do these losers really have no idea that the fashion industry is basically ran by gay men?!
dmhandy
Right! The fashion world is full of diversity! Lots of gay men! Many of the fashion houses were founded by GLBT+ people! The heterosexual fashion designers are allies!
Kangol2
I know many people would say ignore the homophobes, but I’m glad Jacquemus responded and called these homophobic losers out. You can’t deal with two gay adults in a loving relationship? That’s on you! You don’t have to buy anything from his fashion line or from any other line led by or staffed by LGBTQ people (which is most of the major ones). Instead just go run around in a sack cloth or whatever rags you’ve designed for yourself and leave everyone else alone! Anti-gay fanatics and homophobes have done so much damage, over centuries!
Gourmet Guy
Bravissimo, Kangol2! Your delicious post made me laugh in sheer corroboration. Homophobia is such a useless form of hatred, I don’t know where to begin. I’ll start by saying that I’m gayer than laughter myself, and have had an extremely happy life.
jcool
i’ve heard many of the fashions at walmart are designed by straight people
Gourmet Guy
That’s TOO hilarious! Because I’m pretty sure it’s true.
jsmu
Well, considering People Of Wal-Mart…..
ROTFLOL!
Dives
Can you really call anything from Walmart fashion?
dougie
I share your negative views about Walmart, but for different reasons: for paying workers so little that many have to get food “stamps” to survive, for treating employees like a “resource” rather than human beings, for the huge discrepancies in pay between corporate-level managers and front-line workers, etc., etc., etc. However, bad-mouthing people who shop at Walmart (as some in these replies have done) is unfair. Many people who shop there can’t afford to shop anywhere else. It’s not because they don’t have class or taste or whatever makes someone else feel superior. They just don’t have enough money to be able to shop elsewhere.
Nancy Joyzee
You would think the French would be more forward-thinking, pitiful, I will look for Simon Porte Jacquemus, next time I’m in NYC.
HankHarris
She’s Russian, not French
jsmu
@Nancy Joyzee Such assumptions, dear. The one tweet which is reproduced here is in English and sounds extremely amurriKKKan. I’d wager most of the hate-spewing kunts weren’t French.
HankHarris
@jsmu she’s Russian, not American or French.
Brian
Yes, but France is also a very Catholic country. Pockets of Europe are extremely homophobic because of religion.
jsmu
@Hank Harris You have ZERO evidence that she’s Russian. No info on that appears in this article and the tweet is in English.
startenout
@jsmu his proof that she’s Russian is REAL easy to come by since she posted the hateful message on Instagram, her screen name is fully visible, her account lists her as a blogger on Moscow and every post is captioned in Russian. So… yeah not American.
fredk3
Cool. Now I know what brand to buy as gifts for friends. Meanwhile, troll lady can use her paper supermarket bag as her designer purse. It suits her better anyway.
Essie
Usually I say don’t respond to idiots like these but I’m glad Jacquemus decided to tell them off. It makes a solid point and shows these people how stupid they are and that, really no designer really needs people like them.
P.S.: Jacquemus designs lovely things. Too young for me but, lovely nonetheless.
HankHarris
Lol her instagram is blowing up with vomit emojis. Some basic wanna-be influencer.
Caddy4J
Same sex marriage laws passed years ago, where were you?? Jealous perhaps?? She probably hasn’t been touched in years if you go off on just a kiss. I just ignore stupidity, these two are a beautiful couple, and I loved his response. Continued success and happiness.
charlie_jackpot
They are an incredibly sexy couple
TomG
And who else is he supposed to kiss, someone else’s husband ?
JTinToronto
She looks like an ad for plastic surgery gone wrong.
SDR94103
seems more like an attempt at using negativity to drum up business.
James
Cynical much troll.
mgconlan
What strikes me about this controversy is that Simon Jacquemos is standing by his original post and telling his straight attackers to f— off and openly saying to them, “You don’t deserve my products.”: An American in a similar position would be falling all over himself to apologize to the bigots, fearful of losing as much as $1 of potential income. That is the difference between being raised in a society where the dollar is king and being raised in an environment that actually respects people who stand on principle.
ShiningSex
Jacquemus not Jacquemos.
barryaksarben
TWO hot french men kissing! That is a perfect Valentine’s day. Im surprised anyone doesnt know that gay men who are married kiss. Wait til they find out about the rest? like paying bills, keeping house and caring for each other while minding their own business.
ShiningSex
Jacquemus NOT Jacquemos! Spell check!!
Yves
It never ceases to amaze me that homophobic people seem blind to the fact that without gender diversity there would be little happening on stage, film, literature, art, design, display and every other creative field that lifts up our otherwise mundane lives. When working in the retail display industry, not being gay was “being different”. So to be upset that the designers of much desired apparel and accessories are gay and are living their lives in the same way hetero couples do, should be no surprise. They should be grateful that people with creative ability are sharing and gifting their talents and making our lives better and brighter for it. Unless they would prefer to live under a rock.
Jaquelope
The way many of them act, they do seem to prefer living there.
Georgeiv2
I get fed up with people who share intermate pictures of their personal life BUT l just changed my mind l’m with this couple all the way. I am sure that they dont seek my approval but it makes me proud to be Gay when l see the way that tyey deal with homophobes
arie570
Is it bad I wish this happy couple were naked….lol ??
trojanboy
Yep. The world is not that ‘evolved’ at all.
theaterbloke
In defense of Walmart, for those of us on a fixed income or just looking for a good price (admittedly non-union which remains a sticking point for me,) the chain is a godsend. The store mgr of my local Walmart is gay, as well.
Not everyone can afford or even wants designer duds.
Steven R
She doesn’t want clothes by gay designers???? Bitch better learn how to sew.