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Actor J. August Richards Married Musician Joshua Gbor At Birthday Bash
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star shocked the guests at his birthday with a surprise wedding.
Out gay actor J. August Richards blew everyone else’s 50th birthday party out of the water by adding a wedding to the festivities!
After getting engaged in February, the Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star announced on Instagram that he married musician Joshua Gbor during his carnival-themed milestone birthday celebration.
"We got married y’all," the newlyweds captioned their post that included photos of the happy couple on their wedding day. "For my 50th birthday, I wanted to celebrate the places that historically make me who I am: Africa, The Caribbean, Panama and The United States. The theme was carnival -- as if all those places had a single, epic event. We played Reggeaton, Afrobeats and Gogo. We served shrimp ‘n grits, oxtails and vegan jambalaya. In the middle of the party, we announced that we were getting married and surprised our guests with a wedding. It was the most magical night of our lives."
People took to the comment section of the post to wish the couple congratulations, including Gbor who wrote, “So blessed to have found real and true love in you @jaugustrichards.”
While their wedding is a joyful time, Richards pointed out that all LGBTQ+ people don't enjoy the same rights and freedoms and he has.
"On the exact same night in Nigeria, 67 people were arrested for attending what police say was a gay wedding," he wrote. "It was a reminder that some of the places that made us who we are, don't always celebrate ALL that we are... Therefore we want to dedicate our ceremony to the people of the African Diaspora and all around the world living in countries where it is illegal or unsafe to be LGBTQ.”
He continued, writing, “While I am grateful to be living in a country where I am able to publicly and legally marry my soulmate, we still have so much work to do to ensure the rights and safety of the entire community and our allies. We are grateful to the activists who came before us and praying for the safe release of the 67 human beings arrested in Nigeria."
The couple is referencing a recent incident where police in Nigeria arrested over 60 for supposedly attending a same-sex wedding, according to reporting from the New York Times on Aug. 30.
Arrests like these are part of a crackdown on LGBTQ+ people in the country based on a 2014 law that states that anyone entering into a same-sex marriage or civil union will face up to 14 years in prison.
“Amnesty International is calling on the Nigeria’s Delta state police command to immediately release the over 100 men, arrested and paraded to the media, over allegedly organizing gay marriage and put an immediate end to this witch-hunt.” wrote the human rights watch dog group in a post on X (formerly Twiiter).
The arrests violate a range of human rights and discriminates based on real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) August 29, 2023
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Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
