A gay content creator with tens of thousands of followers shared on Threads that a far-right account is using his pictures in their right-wing memes.
On Monday, Anthony Gordon, an L.A.-based makeup artist and content creator, uploaded a post to the social networking platform that called out the account. Under his account @surfbearla, he shared the meme using his picture with text on the photo that reads, "Remember boys, they keep calling us 'far-right,' when in reality we have been right-so-far."
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Gordon didn't know his pictures were being used this way until a fellow makeup artist in his union asked him if he was secretly a MAGA supporter. "I was shocked and completely blindsided," he tells Out. "When I asked why she would think that, she sent me a meme that had begun making the rounds online. It featured a photo of me — one that had been taken by my partner, a professional photographer — and had been altered and repurposed for a far-right political message."
The makeup artist said that he did consult with a legal team, including his partner's intellectual property attorney, to consider what sort of action could be taken against the trolls, but says that he and his partner "were told that while we might be able to get individual takedowns, it would be nearly impossible to fully contain the spread. We were unable to identify the original creator of the meme, which made direct accountability nearly impossible."
Gordon warned his followers about the situation. "Some of you will remember the idiotic far right stole an image of me to make a meme for them," he continued. "What they don’t know is I’m a far left gay liberal man lol. Bozos! Follow me, please."
Gordon was worried about how this would affect career opportunities. He wondered how many people may have seen that meme and assumed it represented his views, and how many jobs he might have missed out on without ever knowing. "That fear is part of what compelled me to speak out publicly and make it clear that the image does not reflect my beliefs," Gordon says.
His followers commented, showing their support. “I lolled when I first saw this because I knew,” one person commented. Another person said, "They’re not the brightest bulbs." This point was further proven by other commenters who said this isn’t the first time photos of muscular gay men were used in this way.
"They did the same thing to Kristofer Weston, the gay leatherman from @wattsthesafeword,” one commenter replied to Gordon’s post. “Every time they find an image of what they think they represent, it’s another gay progressive hot daddy. It’s starting to feel a little Freudian in here."
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