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Former Bigot Gives Out Free Apology Hugs at Pride

Former Bigot Gives Out Free Apology Hugs at Pride

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The man, and his sign asking for forgiveness, has been liked over 25K time on TikTok.

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A TikTok user on Sunday captured a man at Denver Pride who claims to be a former bigot, giving out hugs to passersby. The man wore festive attire, and held a sign that read, “Recovering bigot, I am sorry! Free Hugs.”

The TikTok post has been liked almost 25,000 times and shared nearly 800 times. The post was accompanied by a message, “Thank you sir for owning up to prejudices & saying sorry! I wish everyone could learn something here. My heart is so full seeing the community so accepting of his apology.”

@ooh_lalalivia

WATCH UNTIL THE END!!! Thank you sir for owning up to prejudices & saying sorry! I wish everyone could learn something here. My heart is so full seeing the community so accepting of his apology. #denverpride #prideparade #denverprideparade #lgbtq #lgbtqcommunity #lgbtqally #loveislove

Not only did the man show up and get shared on TikTok, but his sign also popped up on author and columnist Jonathan Merritt’s Twitter account, where it’s been retweeted over 13,000 times.

Merritt’s tweet said, “For many Christians, #Pride month is a perfect opportunity to workout one’s confession and repentance muscles. A friend in Denver sent me this photo of a “recovering bigot” making flesh-on-flesh amends with the children of God he once maligned.”

The man and his sign were some of the highlights at Denver Pride, attended by over 500,000 people. It was the first Pride March in the area since the Colorado Springs shooting at Club Q in November

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John Casey

John Casey is senior editor of The Advocate, writing columns about political, societal, and topical issues with leading newsmakers of the day. The columns include interviews with Sam Altman, Mark Cuban, Colman Domingo, Jennifer Coolidge, Kelly Ripa and Mark Counselos, Jamie Lee Curtis, Shirley MacLaine, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen DeGeneres, Bridget Everett, U.S. Reps. Nancy Pelosi, Jamie Raskin, Ro Khanna, Maxwell Frost, Sens. Chris Murphy and John Fetterman, and presidential cabinet members Leon Panetta, John Brennan, and many others. John spent 30 years working as a PR professional on Capitol Hill, Hollywood, the Nobel Prize-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, UN Envoy Mike Bloomberg, Nielsen, and as media relations director with four of the largest retailers in the U.S.
John Casey is senior editor of The Advocate, writing columns about political, societal, and topical issues with leading newsmakers of the day. The columns include interviews with Sam Altman, Mark Cuban, Colman Domingo, Jennifer Coolidge, Kelly Ripa and Mark Counselos, Jamie Lee Curtis, Shirley MacLaine, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen DeGeneres, Bridget Everett, U.S. Reps. Nancy Pelosi, Jamie Raskin, Ro Khanna, Maxwell Frost, Sens. Chris Murphy and John Fetterman, and presidential cabinet members Leon Panetta, John Brennan, and many others. John spent 30 years working as a PR professional on Capitol Hill, Hollywood, the Nobel Prize-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, UN Envoy Mike Bloomberg, Nielsen, and as media relations director with four of the largest retailers in the U.S.