A make-up artist named Kristian Cardenas, from Lubbock, recently shared an online communication she had with a bride-to-be who said she wasn’t going to hire Cardenas because she didn’t want a gay person to be at her wedding.
But it didn’t stop there with the woman sharing homophobic statements and saying that Cardenas’ lifestyle was “sinful.” However, the unnamed bridezilla said if Cardenas “changes her mind” about being gay, she could consider giving her a booking.
Cardenas took to social media to share screenshots of the conversation and to spread the message that people should be kind to others regardless of how different they are. Her post quickly racked up over 310,000 likes and more than 71,000 retweets along with a slew of outraged comments from supporters.
The conversation had started innocently enough with the woman inquiring about Cardenas’ pricing and services.
However, the woman then went on a completely different tack, asking, “Are you gay?”
Cardenas replied, “Yes ma’am, I am,” but went on to ask what that had to do with her competence as a professional makeup artist.
The woman responded, “I don’t want a gay person doing my wedding,” while adding that she was already wondering if Cardenas was gay or not from her portfolio.
Trying to remain professional, Cardenas said that was “totally fine” and bid her to have a nice day. But the would-be client didn’t stop there.
“I still have more questions,” she continued. “How can you be a Latina woman and be gay? You do know being gay is a sin, correct?
“I will pray for you, my friend. I’m sorry that you’ve chosen a path that’s going to take you straight to hell.”
The woman’s homophobic tirade ended with her saying: “I think you do beautiful make-up but I just can’t have someone who’s gay being a part of my special day.
“The wedding is in a church and I don’t want you walking into my church. If at any time you change your mind about being gay, let me know and I’ll book you.”
Cardenas never answered back but decided to speak out through social media and show just how difficult it is to be LGBTQ, even in 2019.
In an emotional tweet, Cardenas wrote: “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.
“Homophobia is a real issue still in 2019,” she went on. “Please just be kind to everyone you meet.”
As expected, thousands came out in support of Cardenas, labeling the “Bridezilla’s” behavior as “disgusting” and “judgmental.”
One user wrote: “This is disgusting. I’m so sorry you were talked to this way! They said they’ll pray for you? Nah honey, way I see it they the one that truly needs Jesus. I’ll be praying for that judgmental homophobic human who thought this was okay.”
Another said: “Wow! I can’t believe people like that idiot exist in real life! It’s so surreal! All my support and love. Your makeup work is fantastic!”
One outraged user added: “As a recently baptized Catholic (raised Catholic my whole life just never had the education), I want to fly you to Pittsburgh next year and have you do all the hair and makeup for me and my fiance’s wedding.”
Thanking everyone for their support, Cardenas updated them by saying she had blocked the would-be client’s number as well as the friend who had recommended her services.
“I blocked her number, name and her friend’s name,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to be hateful to her even though she was to me.”