London Content Creators Face Homophobic Backlash After Visiting Devon Ice Cream Shop
A family-run ice cream parlor in Sidmouth faced a barrage of hateful comments online after sharing a photo of married social media creators Nick Toteda and Anthony Cushion.
Social media content creators Nick Toteda and Anthony Cushion, who boast a combined following of nearly 800,000 on Instagram, recently found themselves at the center of online homophobia after stopping for ice cream during a trip to the seaside town of Sidmouth in Devon.
The couple, who live in London and are happily married, visited "Taste of Sidmouth," a family-run artisanal gelateria. During their visit, they posed for a harmless photograph holding ice cream cones, smiling, and looking into each other's eyes.
The shop owners were thrilled to welcome the couple. "As a small family-run business, we have always been proud supporters of the LGBTQ+ community; every June, in fact, our shop fills with Pride flags!" the owners shared on social media, adding that it was a pleasure to meet them and that they had excellent taste in ice cream.
However, after the gelateria posted the snapshot online, the establishment's social media pages were flooded with dozens of hateful and homophobic comments. The scale of the abuse forced the business owners to delete the remarks and take a public stance against the backlash.
Sophie, the manager of Taste of Sidmouth, expressed shock and deep disappointment regarding the negative reactions. She emphasized that the business firmly supports the LGBTQ+ community and will not tolerate discrimination or hatred either online or inside the physical store.
"I noticed that someone asked where the original homophobic comments went: I deleted them. And I blocked the people who wrote them," the owners wrote in a Facebook statement. They explained that they refused to provide a platform for bigotry on a page representing their core values.
The shop's decisive response sparked an overwhelming wave of online support, with hundreds of users praising the establishment for standing up against anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. Sophie credited her mother and store owner, Cathy Inglis, for instilling the values of kindness and open-mindedness that inspired their defense of the creators.
Toteda and Cushion are well-known digital creators who share lifestyle, home renovation, and daily life content. The couple met through Tinder over seven years ago, previously lived in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic to flip real estate, and ultimately settled in London while continuing their individual and joint careers.