Homophobe refused to walk his lesbian daughter down the aisle – then something incredible happened
Reddit user ConcernEquivalent744 explained in a post that his niece’s homophobic dad refused to walk her down the aisle. (Getty Images)
An uncle has been praised online for offering to walk his lesbian niece down the aisle after her homophobic dad refused.
A Reddit post created on popular subreddit Am I the Asshole? by user ConcernEquivalent744 has received more than 12,000 upvotes and upwards of 1,700 comments, as he shared the story of his niece being disowned for coming out as a lesbian.
The Reddit user offered to walk the woman down the aisle, after the woman’s parents decided not to attend the ceremony because of a “mental block” over the fact she’s a lesbian.
Reddit user ConcernEquivalent744 shared that his niece has been asked to change the wedding day to give the parents time to “adjust to the idea of her being married to another woman”.
He refused to accept this and told his niece it was “bulls**t” and if his brother and sister-in-law are too occupied in their own faith to watch their daughter marry, he would walk her down the aisle instead.
He added that the dad hasn’t taken well to the idea of him walking his daughter down the aisle.
He also shared that his own 16-year-old son came out more than a year-and-a-half ago. And he said he, along with his wife, gladly accepted his coming out by reassuring him “who he loves will only ever matter… as far as making sure that the person he loves makes him happy”.
ConcernEquivalent744 added: “I reminded him [the dad] that my son is gay, too, and I need to make sure that he knows he’s safe with us, and I’d be doing a pretty p**s-poor job of doing that if I took my braindead homophobe brother’s side over my niece’s.”
According to the post, parents of the daughter, who is now 25, are members of a conservative Christian church and following her coming out at 17 she began living with her grandparents.
At the end of the post he asks users if he could have handled the situation better, after challenging his brother’s treatment of the young woman.
“He [the brother] asked if I was saying that my relationship with my son is more important than his relationship with his daughter. I responded ‘yes, because I don’t have to see a f*****g therapist to teach me how to love my own f*****g kid’.”
Conversion therapy survivor, campaigner and former government adviser Jayne Ozanne told PinkNews her “heart goes out” to the young women getting married in the situation described.
“It is really important to remember that is is their day – meaning those close to them should be focused purely on what they want.
“Naturally, they have asked someone close to them who loves and cares for them and who wants to rejoice in their union to be involved.”
Ozanne said it’s “tragic” the parents of the bride-to-be have reacted how they have, she added: “God’s love is unconditional and so should theirs be!”
‘This reaction is all too common’
“Sadly, this reaction is all too common though – which is I work with religious leaders around the world to tackle discrimination against LGBT+ people in religious settings head on. It’s also why I’m pushing hard for us to have equal marriage in the Church of England.”
The majority of Redditors have praised the post, with OpaqueObilisque writing he handled the situation “perfectly”.
Yomamaulgy commented: “As a kid that is part of the LGBTQ community, OP handled it correctly.
“Bigots need it laid out in the most truthful, hurtful, disrespectful, and disgusting way. So they know how truly terrible they’re being.
“Bigots like these ones think god created everyone equally unless you’re not in their image.”
‘The truth hurts’
Another Redditor, named G8RTOAD, posted: “You told your brother the truth, and the truth hurts.
“He chose to throw away his relationship with his daughter as she didn’t fit the mould in which was suitable for her parents’ lifestyle, and as such, he now has to continue to accept the consequences of his actions and if he needs a therapist to teach him how to love his daughter then too bad for him.”
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