From Coming Out To Holding A Protest, Here Are Five Gay Kisses That Made A Political Statement
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If you’re part of the LGBTQ+ community, chances are that your rights and identity have been politicized, debated, and picked apart by complete and total strangers. Small business owners, big corporations, and governments around the world all have something to say about who we date, love, and have sex with. More often than not, these people aren’t LGBTQ+ themselves.
Sometimes, however, we make our own statements. And yes— we do it with style.
Here are five times gay kisses made a political statement.
Eurovision winners Måneskin performing at the Polsat SuperHit Festival
Italian rock group Måneskin recently performed their song “I Wanna Be Your Slave” live in Poland— complete with an on-stage kiss by lead singer Damiano David and guitarist Thomas Raggi. This being in Poland was certainly no coincidence, as the country has been ranked as the worst country in Europe for LGBTQ folks, according to Rainbow Europe.
David said: “We think that everyone should be allowed to do this without any fear. We think that everyone should be completely free to be whoever the f*ck they want. Thank you Poland.”
Ukrainian star MELOVIN coming out on stage
X Factor Ukraine champ MELOVIN came out on stage at the Atlas Weekend festival by kissing a woman, then a man, then waving the rainbow flag around after his performance. Though the concert was broadcast live on Ukraine’s M1 channel, the end of the performance featuring the kisses was cut off.
“My official coming out, which took place on the stage, was cut from the M1 live broadcast. My video is still not uploaded to YouTube. And all because I showed my essence. For me, it does not matter colour, faith or gender, because you need to love a person, body, soul…”
Chick-fil-A “Kiss In” Day
Shortly after Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy made clear how obsessed he is with queer folks’ business, gay activists decided to gather together at their local Chick-fil-As and kiss someone of the same sex. Organizers on Facebook said they wanted to “show Chick-fil-A that EVERYONE deserves to be able to fall in love, start a family, and take their children to eat fried chicken after a soccer match.”
Adam Lambert closing out the American Music Awards
The scandalous kiss heard around the world, Adam Lambert was blasted for his “For Your Entertainment” performance at the American Music Awards. After it aired, ABC reported receiving approximately 1,500 complaints. Lambert talked about the double standard of female popstars having similar live moments, but drawing the line at a gay man doing so.
This happened to Adam Lambert in 2009.
Don't let it happen again to Lil Nas X in 2021.pic.twitter.com/0AbjLVXftM
— Ernest Owens (@MrErnestOwens) June 29, 2021
The first same-sex kiss in a U.S. campaign ad
Gubernatorial candidate Rich Madaleno’s “Take That, Trump” video featured the first ever same-sex kiss in a U.S. campaign ad. Though he didn’t win the primary, Madaleno’s ad is still a cool indication of how far we’ve come… (and how far we still have to go).
