Bridal Mag White Shutters After Ignoring Same-Sex Couples

The Australian bridal magazine White shut down after losing advertisers in the wake of being accused of failing to feature same-sex couples, according to the BBC.

A photographer who worked on the magazine for three covers, Laura Hotz, accused the Christian couple who ran the magazine of refusing to feature same-sex couples on its pages.

"It appears they are happy to take money, content, and photographs from LGBTQI advertisers and contributors, but are yet to support and represent us in the same way as heterosexual couples are represented in the magazine," Hotz said, according to the radio show Hack.

While the magazine's founders Luke and Carla Burrell never made a public statement that they don't support marriage equality, Hotz said she was speaking out because consumers should know what they're buying.

Marriage equality passed in Australia after citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of it last year, so prior to 2018, the couple was not forced to consider how they would publicly address their stance on equality.

The Burrells addressed the magazine's shuttering in a farewell blog post explaining that they decided to halt publishing because they had "no desire to create a social, political or legal war."

While the Burrells did not confirm Hotz's accusation that they have intentionally erased same-sex couples from the 12-year-old magazine, their statement indicates that Hotz was correct.

"Last year the Australian law was changed to allow same-sex couples to marry. Since then we have been asked repeatedly why our magazine had not yet featured all couples. Like many people, we have had to reflect on our beliefs, not to judge ourselves or others, but to intentionally make space for new conversations," The Burrells wrote.

"It's a long and continuing journey, it's not black and white, there are so many grey areas that need to be explored. Our greatest mandate is to love and the biggest question we've continued to ask ourselves throughout it is, how do we best love?"

The Burrells write in the blog post that they've felt victimized by those demanding equality for same-sex couples on their pages, adding that they are free from judging others but that they needed space to arrive at a decision about how to move forward since marriage equality became the law of the land.

"A campaign was launched targeting the magazine, our team, and our advertisers. Couples who have featured in our magazine have also been the subject of online abuse despite their individual beliefs. We're really saddened by this," The Burrells wrote. "The result has been that a number of advertisers withdrew their sponsorship out of fear of being judged, or in protest. We have had to recognize the reality that White Magazine is no longer economically viable."