Homophobes don’t even try to hide their bigotry as they rage over Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s Andrew Christian bag
Leo Varadkar photographed with an Andrew Christian bag (Twitter)
Homophobes in Ireland are blessing themselves and saying the rosary after discovering that gay Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is the proud owner of an Andrew Christian bag.
Eagle-eyed Twitter trolls were shocked – shocked, we say! – when Fine Gael leader Varadkar was spotted over the weekend sunbathing in a park with the bag by his side.
The Andrew Christian brand is popular in the LGBT+ community and is a well-known provider of underwear and jockstraps.
Seeing the Taoiseach out and about with an Andrew Christian bag prompted social conservatives to find out what the brand makes – and they were not impressed.
A Twitter user lashed out at Leo Varadkar for failing to ‘act with decorum’ by owning an Andrew Christian bag.
A Twitter user shared a photo of Varadkar with the bag along with a screenshot of the brand’s website which shows two models, one wearing briefs and another wearing a jockstrap.
“The website Taoiseach Leo Varadkar got his gym bag from,” the woman wrote, apparently believing she had proved once and for all that the Taoiseach is morally unfit to lead.
When criticised, the Twitter user doubled down on her outrage about Varadkar’s choice of bag, insisting that the Andrew Christian website is “highly explicit”.
“Someone in his position has to act with decorum. He failed to do that,” she added.
In a subsequent tweet, she called the fashionable brand “sub-pornographic” and insisted that its products are “fetish wear”.
Disagree with his politics? Absolutely. Bringing up the fact that he’s gay to make fun of him? Disgusting.
The tweet has been liked more than 300 times, with many Twitter trolls and religious conservatives wading into the replies to express their unadulterated horror that Varadkar owns Andrew Christian gear.
One zealot replied with their own screenshots showing Varadkar wearing an ES branded t-shirt, along with images from the brand’s website which shows – gasp! – men in underwear.
“Varadkar shops exclusively at gay porn boutiques,” they wrote, seemingly thinking that they too had proven a point of some kind.
LGBT+ people and allies were quick to point out the double standards.
Luckily, plenty of LGBT+ people and allies came to the rescue, replying to the Twitter user to point out what should be obvious.
One Twitter user correctly pointed out that the bag is, in fact, “just a bag”, and using it to attack Varadkar is just thinly veiled homophobia.
It’s just a bag. Disagree with his politics? Absolutely. Bringing up the fact that he’s gay to make fun of him? Disgusting. I hope you treat gay friends, family and colleagues with more respect but somehow I doubt it.
— Taz (@_tjhazza) May 27, 2020
Another Twitter user pointed out the real shocking fact: that the centre-right Fine Gael party’s leader might be “a bit kinky”.
Oh no. Our Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar is a homosexual
The shocking part is that anyone in @FineGael is a bit kinky.— Kieran Walsh (@kieransopinion) May 27, 2020
Meanwhile, other advocates and allies got real, calling out the “rampant homophobia” that stops LGBT+ people holding public office.
There have only ever been 5 LGBT heads of state. Ever. Part of the reason for that is the rampant homophobia in almost every society. Queer people shouldn’t have to hide every aspect of their queerness just to satisfy the bigoted electorate. It’s literally a bag with a name on it— Matthew Evans (@Neuro_Matt) May 28, 2020
Others were quick to point out the double standards in the criticism.
It's funny Maria, we don't have any problem with every politician wearing Hugo Boss suits. I don't know if you're aware but Hugo Boss used to make uniforms for the Nazis. We've moved past the stage of clothes brands defining who we are as people. Also here is an example CK ad ? pic.twitter.com/Inqynghshp— Emily (@3milyLavesYu) May 28, 2020
We’re sure Varadkar and LGBT+ people everywhere will immediately stop buying products from Andrew Christian over a few conservative outliers and their discriminatory attitudes.
