Texas bride refuses to hire lesbian makeup artist unless she 'changes her mind about being gay'
A Texas bride-to-be has sparked immense outrage after she reportedly refused to book a makeup artist for the sole reason that she was gay and sent her a series of text messages on why being a lesbian is "sinful".
Cosmetics expert Kristian Cardenas, from Lubbock, said she was completely shocked by the woman’s shift in attitude after her sexuality was revealed on June 12. Her interaction with the woman, who has not been named, started out amicably with the woman inquiring about pricing for Cardenas' services.
The interaction ended with the anonymous bridezilla declaring that she didn’t want Cardenas anywhere near her wedding. However, she soon changed her tune and asked Cardenas to let her know if she "changes her mind" about her sexuality in time for the ceremony so she can hedge a booking after all.
The young makeup artist took to social media and uploaded pictures of the vile interaction, accompanying the screenshots with a message urging people to be kind to one another regardless of their differences. Cardenas' post has since been liked 310,000 times and received in excess of 71,000 retweets, in turn sparking an online outrage of sorts.
In the text messages attached by Cardenas, the woman can be seen opening a completely separate line of questioning. ‘Are you gay?’ the woman abruptly asks. Cardenas confirmed saying, ‘Yes ma’am, I am,’ but inquired what such a personal question has to do with her services or abilities as a professional makeup artist.
‘I don’t want a gay person doing my wedding,’ the woman responded, adding that she had been wondering if she was gay or not from her photos. Opting for a professional response, Cardenas told the woman that’s ‘totally fine’ and told her to have a nice day, but the insults and judgment from the would-be client kept coming in abundance.
"I still have more questions," she continues. "How can you be a Latina woman and be gay? You do know being gay is a sin, correct? I will pray for you, my friend. I’m sorry that you’ve chosen a path that’s going to take you straight to hell."
The tirade of abhorrent messages ended with the woman asking Cardenas to change her mind about being gay. "I think you do beautiful make-up but I just can’t have someone who’s gay being a part of my special day. The wedding is in a church and I don’t want you walking into my church. If at any time you change your mind about being gay, let me know and I’ll book you."
Cardenas never replied to the latter texts but she spoke out online against the homophobia she endured, insisting the exchange shows the adversity the LGBTQ community face even in 2019.
"I love what I do and who I am. Today I was taken back a little bit. Homophobia is a real issue still in 2019,’ says Cardenas. "Please just be kind to everyone you meet."
In the wake of the tweet, thousands showed support for Cardenas lambasting the "bridezilla's" behavior and branding it "disgusting" and "judgemental".
"This is disgusting," one user said. "I’m so sorry you were talked to this way! They said they’ll pray for you? Nah honey, way I see it they the one that truly needs Jesus. I’ll be praying for that judgmental homophobic human who thought this was okay." Another added: "Wow! I can’t believe people like that idiot exist in real life! It’s so surreal! All my support and love. Your makeup work is fantastic!"
Cardenas thanked everyone for their support, providing an update that she had now blocked the woman’s number. "I blocked her number, name and her friend’s name," she said. "I don’t want anyone to be hateful to her even though she was to me."