Openly gay wrestler Anthony Bowens defiantly kisses boyfriend in front of homophobic protesters

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By Carina Murphy

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Pro wrestler Anthony Bowens has hit back at homophobes by kissing his boyfriend in front of anti-gay protestors.

The All Elite Wrestling star shared a photo of the moment on his Instagram with the caption "Standup Against Hate" and a rainbow emoji.

In the sweet snap, Bowens and his YouTuber boyfriend Michael Pavano can be seen kissing in the street. Behind them, protestors are holding signs bearing pro-Trump messages and anti-gay slurs.

One of the signs reads: "Trump, make America great again: ban homo marriage." The other says: "Homos go to hell. Repent. Obey Jesus."

Bowens came out as gay in 2019 after previously identifying as bisexual. He and Pavano have been official since 2017 when they went public with their romance on YouTube. The couple have since launched a joint YouTube channel where they share vlogs of their life together.

Since posting the photo of them kissing on December 6, the 30-year-old wrestler and his boyfriend have received an outpouring of support on social media.

As well as being liked over 28,000 times, the Instagram post has racked up hundreds of comments.

Fellow wrestling star and Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo commented his support in the form of several emojis, including the rainbow flag.

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Credit: Instagram

"The courage to take this photo makes me love you even more," another person wrote.

"The youth of today is so lucky to have someone like you that they can look up to and aspire to be! Thank you for this, needed to see this show of love today!" added another.

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Credit: Instagram

"Love never needs an explanation," commented a fourth.

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Credit: Instagram

Bowens made headlines again this month when a spectator shouted a homophobic slur at him during a match. The comment could be heard on AEW Dynamite's coverage of the fight.

In an interview with TMZ Sport, Bowens responded calmly to the incident, saying it was "the kind of stuff that comes with the territory" of being an "out LGBTQ athlete".

"It's not indicative of the AEW fans at all because any interaction I’ve had with them since starting the company has all been positive," he added.

"There’s always one person who oversteps the line and this time it was picked up on camera and I’m kind of glad it was because it amplifies the message that we still have work to do, but it also shows there is so much positivity out there from the response, which as awesome to see," the wrestler concluded.

Featured Image Credit: Pacific Press Media Production Corp. / Alamy