Chris Marchant is a member of the all-gay string quartet Well-Strung, a pop-classical band that performs covers of everything from Madonna to Beethoven.
On Saturday, he posted the image of himself on Instagram shirtless whilst leaning up against an obelisk in a Provincetown cemetery with the famous Pilgrim Monument in the background.
Marchant captioned the photo: “Can’t wait to get back to Ptown for Halloween and to help with the launch weekend of @ptownbrewingco!”. He was referring to a partnership with Provincetown Brewing Company (PBC).
Unfortunately for him, people weren’t so into his sexy cemetery photo shoot.
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“Who’s [sic] name is on the tomb you’re standing on?” one person asked.
“Somebody wasn’t buried there for you take an abs pic,” another commented.
A third person wrote: “Wow. I’m glad that it’s not my relatives [sic] grave you’re standing on to suck in your stomach and get likes on Instagram. Christ. When narcissism knows no limits. Absolute lack of thought for anyone else except yourself. Unfollowing.”
Marchant responded to the criticism by apologizing defending the photo, saying his abs “aren’t the point” and remarking that all the dead people in P-Town “would be happy” about it.
“My abs aren’t the point,” he quipped. “I’m willing to bet that anybody buried in Provincetown would be happy to support the kind of activism that PBC is going to fuse into its business. I might be wrong, but I’m willing to take the bet.”
But he didn’t stop there.
Marchant continued: “I mean zero disrespect to anybody in Provincetown, living or dead; anybody who knows me knows that. I lived next to the graveyard last summer and often walked through the paths and graves; the photographer wanted to capture that moment.”
“I don’t see why standing next to or on a stone that represents someone’s life and death equals disrespect. Peace and love to y’all.”
Marchant’s unapologetic response did little to quell the firestorm, however.
In response, one follower wrote: “Posting a half naked pic in a graveyard to promote a beer company that promotes activism [sic] my head hurts from the mental gymnastics you have to do to get there. Unfollowing and moving on.”
It wasn’t until media outlets reached out to the brewery Marchant was promoting that he finally deleted the post:
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Xzamilloh
I guess I could see how some would be offended, even if I don’t personally care, but who was he kidding with that shameless display of his body as if nothing else was the main attraction? Cemeteries can be beautiful and love dark haunting photos that show them in that way.
This was not photography…this was marketing.
Vince
He’s too much of a narcissist to see that. I’m sure he’s convinced himself that this was important art.
Toofie
While it’s not the most offensive picture, to act oblivious as to why someone might think it’s in poor taste is silly. He’s more annoyed people noticed he sucked in his stomach.
jcoberkrom
What an oaf. You screwed up apologize.
tjack47
People are much too uptight. Dead people don’t care. A family might, yes, but I don’t look at the grave of a loved one and think they are there. I also didn’t see a thing wrong with his response. Too bad it’s taken down. It was a great photograph.
brickdr66
Thank you tjack.
Godabed
The shallow shameless opportunist says what?
JCalvinius
All these people are snobby self righteous pricks who don’t understand our own history. Cemeteries were the city parks of the Victorian era where the whole family and household (servants) would go to get fresh air and have a picnic or stroll. Only in todays vast gap between our culture and death has made a cemetery a place of fear and morbidity. We don’t go to visit our elders and brothers and sisters at their final resting place like they did back in the days when 3 out of 11 children survived to adulthood.
Get a clue before you start picking. Even if he was promoting and advertising, so what? It is a beautiful place that should be shared.
ohiogreg
I agree with @JCalvinius. I have gone to cemeteries to see Ballet performances. Cemeteries are parks and a great place to receive a History lesson. I enjoy visiting cemeteries.
ElPillo
In the cemetery, but on facing on a tomb, I would say.
Curtispsf
Um. He’s a GREAT Viola player. And friendly as hell. I met him when we shared the stage performing / singing at a San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus rehearsal. I went up to him,mentioned I liked his Viola playing and that I used to play Viola. He handed me his Viola and insisted I play something for him. I VERY reluctantly did and he said how good I sounded. I didn’t sound good; I was terrible but he made my day. So yeah; I kind of know him and I’m sure no disrespect was intended. He gets a pass as far as I’m concerned for a temporary lapse of judgement. I’m sure the dead were not offended, so lighten up.
Paul M
Chris Marchant happens to be a very talented musician, not some megalomaniac as these comments would make him out to be. Some may question his taste in photographic backdrops, but to cast aspersions as if he committed an unpardonable or illegal act, is just plain overreacting. If it were such an affront to our social mores to use cemeteries as settings for commercial purposes, why are so many horror pics filmed in them?
ElPillo
Talented and friendly, but unsensibg. And if he took his art seriously, focus on your ability to play, not your abs to show
Juanjo
I do not care how talented a musician he is. It was disrespectful to pose like that in a cemetery to promote something.
djmcgamester
Yep, still in the culture of being offended for the sake of being offended.
PinkoOfTheGange
Where do these people get the energy to pearl clutch with such intensity and regularity?
Ejzuber
I’ve met Christopher. He’s extremely talented and a hell of a nice guy and the IG trolls should really just simmer the hell down. People are so desperate for anything to be offended by these days, and all this righteous indignation is getting very, very boring.
Geeker
Another Instaho…Ugh.
SnakeyJ
people are insane. who cares? why is every little thing a big issue these days? it’s really becoming worrisome.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Was a grave misunderstanding….
Griff_Greymuzzle
No matter if he’s talented or not, his instagram is a bunch of shirtless pics of himself. He’s self obsessed, narcissistic and as another pointed out, he’s more upset on being called out for sucking in his stomach. Kinda sad, but all too common.
Hdtex
And you were thirsty enough to look….
SeanBear
I have known Chris for about 5 years. He and the rest of Well Strung are very talented AND very nice guys. Chris is very different in person than you would think by his pictures. He is warm and far from arrogant. My husband who is shy, befriended the group after a concert. They keep in touch with him and will search him out after a concert to say hi.
Hell the shot was not disrespectful and CERTAINLY not the 1st time a photo shoot has been held there. Of all the photos taken in the P-Town area, that was tame. If he was shirtless in a costume leaning on the grave I am sure it would not have garnered any attention.
brickdr66
The recent Hocus Pocus anniversary was held at Hollywood cemetary.
dinard38
Ugh……i’m so sick and tired of people getting offended over everything. I can post a picture of me and a puppy and someone would get offended. The ills of social media.