Man thrown out of Asda over rant about Pride-themed gnome
Asda’s Pride-themed garden gnomes (Facebook)
A man was asked to leave an Asda store last weekend by police after he became angry and irate over a Pride-themed garden gnome.
The incident—which took place at 5.30pm in the Estover branch in Plymouth last Saturday (June 29)—led to four police officers being called to the store to insist that he leave.
An eyewitness told Plymouth Live that the man was “causing a disturbance over a gnome [in] sort of gay pride flag colours.”
The Pride-themed garden gnomes reportedly ‘offended’ the man
The man reportedly shouted at staff and said the gnome “offended him,” according to the witness. They also said that the man appeared to have a “rainbow coloured gnome” in his bag when the incident took place.
“The guy started saying random things like it’s a gnome, it’s offended him as they don’t have a sexuality,” the eyewitness revealed.
“I’m assuming the guy was offended as they look like they have a gender, that’s the bit I caught of the situation.”
The man was ‘abusive and loud,’ police said
Employees in the store called police after the man became “highly aggressive,” an Asda spokeswoman confirmed.
Meanwhile, the police force’s incident manager for Devon and Cornwall said the man was “abusive and loud” and “was advised to leave the store by officers at the scene.”
“I’m assuming the guy was offended as they look like they have a gender, that’s the bit I caught of the situation.”
– Eyewitness
The man reportedly visited the store to make a complaint about an item he had bought there when the incident occurred.
Asda launched its Pride-themed gnomes in 2017
Asda sells a number of Pride themed products, including its gnomes, which were launched in 2017.
The gnomes comes in male and female varieties and have rainbow coloured hats and also hold rainbow flags.
In a Facebook post in 2017, Asda shared a photograph of the gnomes and said: “We’re proud to be supporting Pride events across the country this summer—and to celebrate we’ve created these special rainbow gnomes.”
Asda is just one of a growing number of brands and retail outlets that carry Pride-themed merchandise to mark Pride month in June of each year.
