In a recent Instagram video, model and actor Christian Keyes recently posted a video specifically asking “gentlemen” to respect his truth by not leaving eggplant emojis, sexual comments and comments like “Hey sexy,” “What’s up?” and “What’s good?” on his Instagram posts.
“I got nothing but love for all other brothers and sisters in the gay community,” he explained before stating, “No one need to be harassing nobody and doing all of that, man. It’s too much. It’s too aggressive.”
Which raises the question: Are eggplant emojis and comments like “Hey sexy” really a form of sexual harassment?
One could argue that such comments are a form of harassment only if a person specifically asks other not to make them.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
But considering how Instagram works, it’s entirely possible that a user could always stumble onto Keyes’ account without seeing his video, and then leave a come-on without realizing that he’d specifically asked people not to do that.
Also, Keyes occasionally posts images of himself in sleeveless shirts, shirtless or just generally looking hunky — he’s a model after all. Most of his Instagram pics are memes and pics of him in modest clothes, but among them are images like these:
Posting such images doesn’t mean that he deserves harassment or is “asking for it.” It just means that physical attraction is part of what gets models and actors work, and so it follows that some people will react by leaving thirsty-as-h*ll comments on models’ and actors’ Instagram pics.
Related: The Warwick Rowers are p*ssed about having these images censored from their Instagram page
It’s unclear whether Keyes feels its “harassing” to get come-ons from women or if he only feels that way when they come from men.
As such, we question whether Keyes has a point, whether gay and bi men should be less thirsty in Instagram comments, whether he should just take these comments as compliments or, if it really bothers him, whether he should just not read the comments.
But what do you think?
Vince
Oh honey…maybe less time taking your clothes off looking all sexual will get you less eggplant and hey what’s up sexy comments. Just a thought. 🙂
Kangol
First, Keyes played a gay character on a show, so there are viewers who probably do not realize that he personally is not gay. Some people have a hard time differentiating between fiction and reality. On top of this, like so many people Instagram, he seems to invite people’s lust and sexual comments with the photos, but then reacts badly when they post them. Not wanting the sexual DMs and eggplants from guys is his right, and he has made his feelings known, so any gay/bi/queer men should just channel their thirst elsewhere from now on if they’re feeling anything more than a like, if that.
iamru2
Talk about passive aggressive.
Hussain-TheCanadian
I already unfollowed him Kangol – Don’t need to tell me twice, i going to post some nasty shit on Henry Cavil’s Instagram, I know he will appreciate it.
iamru2
He sounds uptight , I wonder what the other issues are in his life that are making him so angry and uptight!
Hussain-TheCanadian
Psychologically speaking, i get the feeling that Christian might of been a victim of sexual harassment, or even worse, sexual abuse. His reaction is just too strong to be “don’t bother me peasants”.
Greg
Yes. He might have been.
Hussain-TheCanadian
Does the model in your avatar knows you’re using his pic to solicit sex?
TheMarc
I think he has every right to request that he not receive unwanted sexual advances. No matter the nature of the content he posts. Though, I believe there should be an expectation of the type of reactions he is receiving from gay/bi men due to said content; he should not be inundated with those comments if they are indeed making him uncomfortable.
But honestly, why can’t we find sexy gay/bi men to support and follow on social media? I see this A LOT. Sexy straight guy who posts thirst trap pictures requests gay men stop sending him sexual messages. Again, he should have every right to make such a request and we should honor it; in the extreme. If they don’t want our attention, STOP giving it to them!!! No one should be forced to accept sexual harassment; end of discussion. But by the same token, we as a community spend too much time, money and effort worshiping and supporting straight men; true allies excluded. Time to move on. With social media and the current social climate, hot, gay or bi sexy celebrity men are not that hard to find.
Heywood Jablowme
I get why celebrities (to use a very general term) tend to plaster their images and their comments all over social media. I get why they often need to react to stuff other celebrities say. But I don’t get why they can’t just ignore comments they don’t like from non-celebrities? Some celebrities on social media spend a lot of time trying to “herd the cats” (their fans) in exactly the way they want but that’s a quixotic endeavor that can never work.
Doing this will only annoy and provoke a lot of his fans who actually LIKE him, or did before now!
Kangol
I agree, but it’s another thing if someone is sending you d!ck or @ss pics, and not only are you not interested, but there’s no possibility of interest because you don’t share the same sexual orientation or aren’t sexually fluid. When Moonlight premiered and then again after Bird Box, I’ve noticed lots of GBQ guys bombarding Trevante Rhodes’s social media or threads featuring him with comments about how badly they want him, how they’d bear his kids, etc. I’ve seen him be very polite about how he wasn’t gay or into guys, but that he was very proud to play the character of “Chiron/Black” because he knew how important it was to gay and bi black gay men and people, and that he appreciates the fan support. Not everyone responds that way, but it’s great when straight stars with gay fans do.
Creamsicle
What does and does not constitute “x behavior” online depends entirely on how seriously either or both parties takes online communication. Is saying “I love you,” more impactful in person or through text? How frequently does this person even engage in their social media?
People prioritize these different means of communication differently. Some even regard all online interactions as being fundamentally shallow.
Arguably, the reason people feel free to leave these sorts of messages online is because they are shielded for the reactions of their recipients. 90% of the eggplant emoji leaving, thirsty followers wouldn’t overtly hit on him in person, but they are also followers that he’s inevitably going to profit from having.
1898
“Which raises the question: Are eggplant emojis and comments like ‘Hey sexy’ really a form of sexual harassment?”
If someone tells you not to make those comments and you continue making them anyway, then yes, that is harassment.
“But considering how Instagram works, it’s entirely possible that a user could always stumble onto Keyes’ account without seeing his video, and then leave a come-on without realizing that he’d specifically asked people not to do that.”
The remedy for that problem is to make his account private and/or disable comments on his posts. (Disabling comments is an Instagram feature I just recently discovered.)
If he’s unwilling to make his account private or disable comments, then unfortunately he should expect to continue receiving annoying and harassing comments. That’s how the internet works. If you put yourself out there for the world to see, the world will comment.
Brian
Did he also wish for a pony and a gazillion dollars?
Whether or not it’s right or wrong is not the issue. That he’s clueless enough to think it will stop just because he asked is the issue. Did he just discover the internet? I’m guessing he’s up to his eyeballs in eggplant emojis now.
And people have just as much right to post obnoxious comments and emojis as he has the right to post his narcissistic beefcake shots.
dwes09
Nope, not harassment. Just tacky, or sad. He needs to have a private account for friends, family, and others he is comfortable with. And he needs.to be less sensitive about a promotional account. It is that simple.
Harassment would be comments and DMs with explicit content or suggestions.