Out AEW Wrestler Anthony Bowens Shuts Down Trolls with Legendary Portrait of Love

Several years ago, out All Elite Wrestling star Anthony Bowens and his boyfriend posed for a heroic photo of a kiss shared right in front of a homophobic mob. When he re-posted the image, Gay Twitter promptly celebrated and showed that they have Bowens' back.

The onetime World Trios Champion and member of The Acclaimed "was meeting fans at Starrcast Texas as part of a promotion" in the Lone Star State recently, OutSports reported.

"That's when someone apparently associated with the notorious anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church promised to show up at his event," evidently spurred by Bowens being featured on a poster for the event, the LGBTQ+ athletics news site detailed.

Resorting to the tired homophobic language of the religious hard right, the WBC member sent out a message on social media declaring, "I'm bringing members of the Westboro Baptist Church with me there to rebuke this sinner!"

The tiny denomination has shown up for decades to every sort of public occasion, including the funeral of murdered university student Matthew Shepard, the 21-year-old gay man who was pummeled by two assailants and left for dead in 1998. Shepard died six days later, and Westboro followers showed up at his funeral with signs emblazoned with inflammatory and hateful messages.

Shepard's killers both received life sentences.

Spotting the post from the WBC member, a fan retweeted it to Bowens' official X account, writing, "Let's be honest. A picture of you and your BF kissing in front of them would be epic."

Bowens lost no time in making his reply, telling the fan that he not only had the same idea, but that he and his guy, Michael Pavano, had already acted on it. Bowens included the proof in the form of a photo from 2021 that showed the couple sharing a snog in front of the sign-toting trolls.

Though the image had already gone viral several years ago, it remained as "epic" as ever.

The photo's repeat appearance was embraced by supportive fans to the tune of 380,000 views... not to mention well over 11,000 likes and more than 800 reposts.

Moreover, the post's comments section was an ocean of support for Bowens and Pavano.

"They are at San Diego Comic Con every year," one person noted of the congregation.

"Also funny that they all hate homosexuality so much that they never miss a Pride parade 🤔," another commented, while a third gleefully noted, "Oh my god this is so beast".

That wasn't all Bowens did to stand up to the tiny congregation's bullying; he replied directly to the WBC member who had vowed to bring a band of fellow parishioners to "rebuke" him.

"Bring them," Bowens invited. "I'd love to meet them!"

Check out some of Gay Twitter's other supportive responses to Bowens' refusal to back down in the face of hate.

"Bowens came out in a first-person Outsports essay in 2017 and his career has taken off since (he first identified as bi and now gay)," OutSports recalled. "In 2022, he became All Elite Wrestling's first out LGBTQ male champion and labels himself the 'Pride of Pro Wrestling.'"