Gay “Kissathon” Held After Gay Couple Were Ejected From Supermarket for Holding Hands

A mass “kissathon” has been held at an East London supermarket after two gay guys were ejected from the store earlier in the week for holding hands while shopping.

Around 200 protestors carrying rainbow flags danced outside the Hackney Road Sainsbury store on Saturday night before kissing in the aisles.

The protest came about after a London journalist spotted a tweet about the incident earlier on the week and arranged a facebook event to complain about the incident.

The journalist Michael Segalov encouraged people to meet at the supermarket and “hold hands, pucker up, and tell Sainsbury’s enough is enough”.

Thomas Rees, 32, and Joshua Bradwell, 25, were in the Sainsbury’s store when a guard told them a woman had complained about their behaviour.

Mr Rees said he had been holding Mr Bradwell’s hand and may have put an arm around his partner’s waist as they were buying food on Monday evening.

But after they paid, a security guard beckoned them outside to tell them about the complaint.

Mr Rees said it “knocked me for six” and left him “analysing how I’m perceived”, but since the incident they had received messages of support from around the world.

Sainsbury’s apologised for the incident and offered the couple a £10 voucher.

The ‘Big Gay Kiss In’ at Sainsbury’s ? So many people turned up! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/maKzLjNWou

— Tom Knight (@TJ_Knight) August 13, 2016

A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s, which provided biscuits and water for the protesters, said: “It’s been a really great event and an important opportunity for the community to show their support.

“We do our best to make sure everyone feels welcome in our stores but occasionally we make mistakes. We are working hard to make sure lessons are learnt.”

The supermarket said it was conducting an investigation into the incident.

Two years ago, a “big kiss” protest was held at a Sainsbury’s store in Brighton after a lesbian couple were asked to leave when one gave her partner a kiss on the cheek.

Last Updated on Aug 15, 2016