A bride reportedly refused to hire a lesbian makeup artist unless she "changes her mind about being gay".
Earlier this week, Texas-based makeup artist, Kristian Cardenas, took to Facebook to share screenshots of her exchange with the bride-to-be, who has remained unidentified. The woman in question enquired about Cardenas' services, then proceeded to ask whether she was gay, and pass judgement on her sexuality.
"Openly sharing who i am with the world is my choice; a choice i will never apologize for. i love what i do and who i am. today i was taken back a little bit, and i doubted if i wanted to continue doing hair and makeup; if this is response i am going to get for being who i am [sic]," she wrote in the caption of the post.
"Homophobia is real, and with it being pride month i feel like the comments get worse. i’m sharing this today to say, please be kind to everyone. if someone doesn’t have the same views as you, opinions, or whatever it may be just respect them. don’t hate them for being different [sic]."
The screenshots show the bride introducing herself, and saying that a friend had recommended Cardenas. The makeup artist replied with the price for a hair and makeup package, and provided a link to her business's Facebook page. The bride-to-be then proceeded to ask a number of questions, with the first being "Are you gay?"
"Yes ma'am i am. i'm sorry, but what does that have to do with your wedding or my services?" the makeup artist replied to the invasive line of questioning.
The woman's response? "Oh i don't want a gay person doing my wedding, I saw your FB and i couldn't tell if you we're or weren't gay."
Cardenas proved to be the very image of decorum, replying "Okay that's totally fine, you have a nice day!"
The bride didn't end the exchange there, however, and clearly felt compelled to pry further. "I still have more questions. How can you be a latina woman and be gay?" she continued. "I will pray for you my friend. I'm sorry that you've chosen a path that's going to send you straight to hell. I think you do beautiful makeup but i just can't have someone who's gay being apart of my special day. The wedding is in a church and i don't want you walking into my church."
And to add insult to injury, she concluded: "If you at any chance change your mind about being gay let me know please so i can book you [sic]."
Cardenas, who had only recently come out, has been struggling with facing acceptance in her small Texas town.
"I wanted to post [this conversation] for my friends and family because about a month and a half ago, I came out to everyone on social media. I was tired of hiding who I was. And when I had such a positive reaction to me sharing who I was I felt like everyone just needed a little taste of my reality," she has since told Allure.
"So many friends and family or just strangers had no idea that people could actually be like this. I wanted to share to bring some light on the subject because it’s from someone they know and love," she continued. "I’ve been getting such a positive response, so much love and support, whether it be from potential clients, strangers, or someone who’s struggling with their own story. Of course, I have my fair share of awful things still being said to me. I have to brush that aside and focus on the positive."
The bride-to-be actually reached out to the makeup artist after the exchange went viral. "She apologized, but told me it was her wedding and her choice to choose who she wanted doing makeup and hair, and that her beliefs shouldn’t have hurt my feelings," Cardenas explained to the publication. "I understand where she’s coming from. I just wish she would have been a little nicer about it."
This article was originally published on Four Nine
