J. August Richards is officially a married man! The Angel alum took to his Instagram to tell his followers that he and Josh Gbor got married. Documenting the night with some sweet photos, Richards also wrote a lengthy message about how meaningful it is. He noted that for his 50th birthday, he “wanted to celebrate the places that historically make me who I am: Africa, The Caribbean, Panama and The United States. The theme was carnival – as if all those places had a single, epic event. We played Reggeaton, Afrobeats and Gogo. We served shrimp ‘n grits, oxtails and vegan jambalaya.”
“In the middle of the party, we announced that we were getting married and surprises our guests with a wedding,” Richards continued. “It was the most magical night of our lives…” Although the wedding was of their dreams, many people in the LGBTQ Community were in a very different position. The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star explained that on “the exact same night in Nigeria, 67 people were arrested for attending what police say was a gay wedding. It was a reminder that some of the places that made us who we are, don’t always celebrate ALL that we are…”
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“Therefore, we want to dedicate our ceremony to the people of the African Diaspora and all around the world living in countries where it is illegal or unsafe to be LGBTQ,” Richards shared. “While I am grateful to be living in a country where I am able to publicly and legally marry my soulmate, we still have so much work to do to ensure the rights and safety of the entire community and our allies. We are grateful to the activists who came before us and praying for the safe release of the 67 human beings arrested in Nigeria. We thank you deeply for the love and well wishes…”
According to ET, Richards came out as gay in April 2020 while he was doing an Instagram Live with his Council of Dads co-star Sarah Wayne Callies. His character on the canceled NBC drama, Dr. Oliver Post, was a married gay man with a daughter. Now, Richards can be just like his character in real life. It is sweet of him to dedicate his and Gbor’s special day to those who aren’t able to freely love who they want to love. Hopefully, someday soon, people will be able to marry who they want and not be afraid. For now, Richards is advocating on their behalf and will likely continue to do so. Of course, congratulations to Richards and Gbor on their big day!
