A man and a woman got married in Australia to protest a lack of equal marriage
A man and a woman got married in Australia on Friday, to protest against the country’s lack of equal marriage. Sound strange? Read on.
The award winning comedians, who both happen to be gay, tied the knot in a ceremony at the International Comedy Festival club on Friday evening.
But when it was time for Zoe Coombs Marr and Rhys Nicholson to kiss, the pair each turned to their respective same-sex partner to kiss them instead.
The pair staged the wedding to highlight the ridiculousness of a lack of equality in Australia, amid an ongoing and lengthy battle to try to have the Government legislate for equality.
The ‘couple’ were also nominated for a Barry, an annual award given to the best comedy act.
As well as staging a full on wedding, the pair also had protesters there who were opposed to same-sex wedding.
Fellow comedians, Denise Scott, Judith Lucy and Celia Pacquola, were also present as bridesmaids.
Coombs Mar and Nicholson, who are actually best friends, not a couple, are unable to marry their partners, despite getting engaged in Edinburgh, Scotland last year, another sign of protest.
“She [Coombs Marr] was like, ‘I’ve been thinking about it, I think we should get married’. And then we had to tell our partners. My partner was in Edinburgh with his mother and he had to tell her his partner was getting married to a woman,” Nicholson said.
Coombs Marr also said she wanted to use the occasion as a time to celebrate with family.
She said: “It’s a radical act, and it’s not that often you get the opportunity to do that”.
Adding: “I love weddings, it’s a big event for a family and this is serious stuff, but at the same time, we can’t do it and we’re queer, and we have a history of making mockeries of shit that excludes us.”
Coombs Marr also tweeted: “Thrilled to announce after years of not being in love, Rhys Nicholson and I are getting married! Because we can”.
The real protesters also chanted “Leftie scum!”, over and over, wearing Australian flags, and causing fisticuffs.
