Australian News Corp site news.com.au refused to let the insensitivity of one of its readers go unnoticed.
A newlywed gay couple form Britain, David and Marco Bulmer-Rizzi, were on their honeymoon in Adelaide, Australia, when David died in a freak accident, cracking his skull while falling down a flight of stairs.
The tragedy was then made even more horrific when the Australian government stamped “never married” on David’s death certificate. South Australian law does not recognize any same-sex marriages.
That meant Marco wasn’t considered David’s next of kin, shutting him out of the decision making process regarding things like cremation or how the body was handled.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
A story about the injustice ran on news.com.au featuring a photo of the couple that any rational person would find heartbreaking and poignant.
But reader Michael Davis had other things on his mind.
“Where was the caution or warning for this image?” he asked on the news site’s Facebook page. “Some of us are trying to have bloody dinner without thinking about a bloke tasting man spit you dirty scumbags.”
To the News Corp editor’s credit, the site made an excellent call to abandon journalistic objectivity in its response:
“Sure thing Michael! WARNING: A man eating ‘bloody dinner’ is being unnecessarily hateful in your midst. Tread cautiously, or simply ignore his remarks. Glad to be of service.”
The site’s comment quickly amassed over 1,500 likes.
Here’s how the exchange looked:
h/t Pink News
