Actor Jaime Augusto Richards III, better known as J. August Richards, turned his 50th birthday bash into a fairytale when he surprised attendees with a wedding.
Although the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Angel star’s birthday was Monday, he hosted a party with longtime partner, musician Joshua Gbor, to celebrate this milestone birthday during Labor Day weekend, according to Entertainment Tonight. The theme of the invite-only shindig infused the USC grad’s Caribbean, African, Panamanian and Black American cultures. When guests walked in, they entered a carnival with a myriad of cultural foods, decor and music.
Guests were shocked to learn they would also witness the union of the lovebirds in a preplanned wedding ceremony. The Vampire Academy actor shared the news of being a newlywed by posting a photo of him and his husband in their wedding day suits with an emotional caption.
“WE GOT MARRIED, Y’ALL!!! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾♥️♥️♥️,” his caption began. “For my 50th birthday, I 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 surprised our guests with a wedding. It was the most magical night of our lives…”
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The director went on to discuss the recent homophobic occurrence at a same-sex wedding ceremony that left 67 people behind bars, which included the couple getting married, according to ABC News. The Nigerian police admitted to arresting these citizens because same-sex relationships “will never be tolerated” in the West African country.
“On the exact same night in Nigeria, 67 people were arrested for attending what police say was a gay wedding,” the caption continued. “It was a reminder that some of the places that made us who we are, don’t always celebrate ALL that we are… 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.”
The entrepreneur has always been an advocate for gay rights even before he publicly opened up about his sexual identity with his former Council of Dads castmember Sarah Wayne Callies during a conversation on Instagram Live about the complexities of Richards’ character Dr. Oliver Post, a married gay man with a daughter.
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He received a lot of support from fans, who he thanked for their tremendous amount of support in an Instagram post of him in a rainbow garment.
“Everyone said it would be but nothing could have prepared me. Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. ‘Thank you’ feel like cheap words to describe the depths of the gratitude I feel for your support and the crushing avalanche of LOVE I felt aimed at me yesterday,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “Who knew that something I once thought of as terrifying had within it something so beautiful… For every comment, like, emoji, repost, phone call, text message, everything. I felt it ALL… Thank you!!! #PRIDE#LGBTQ #BlackLGBTQ #ComingOut#SelfLove #SelfAcceptance”
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Congrats to the happy couple!
