“I’ve always appreciated your authenticity, and brilliance, and passion, but you have certainly outdone yourself this year.”
Nicholas Ashe has penned a heartfelt message of love to his boyfriend Justice Smith.
The actor, who currently stars alongside Rutina Westley as Micah West on Queen Sugar, called the Detective Pikachu star the “author of all my recent smiles” in a beautiful post for his 24th birthday.
“You make me feel safe. Seen. Heard. Inspired. Admired. Returning the favor has been my favorite adventure,” he wrote. “I’ve always appreciated your authenticity, and brilliance, and passion, but you have certainly outdone yourself this year. Bravo.
“It’s difficult to fully encapsulate my gratitude, but here’s an Instagram post to help me try. Happy birthday, beautiful man. I love you most of all. Thank you for all this good.”
Nicholas’ post was met with support from stars such as Angelica Ross, Broderick Hunter, Darryl Stephens, Ryan Jamaal Swain and Shaun Ross.
One fan summed up exactly how we’re feeling with the following comment: “I just can’t breathe… this is just so beautiful and I love this so much.” BRB, just grabbing an inhaler.
Nicholas and Justice both came out as queer and revealed their relationship status earlier this year after stressing the importance of inclusivity within the Black Lives Matter movement.
“We chanted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ ‘Black Queer Lives Matter’ ‘All Black Lives Matter’. As a black queer man myself, I was disappointed to see certain people eager to say Black Lives Matter, but hold their tongue when Trans/Queer was added,” said Justice.
“I want to reiterate this sentiment: if your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-black. If your revolution is okay with letting black trans people like #TonyMcDade slip through the cracks in order to solely liberate black cishet men, it is anti-black.
“You are trying to push yourself through the door of a system designed against you, and then shut the door behind you. It is in our conditioning to get as close to whiteness, straightness, maleness as we can because that’s where the power is. And if we appeal to it, maybe it’ll give us a slice.
“But the revolution is not about appeal. It is about demanding what should have been given to us from the beginning. What should have been given to black, queer, and trans individuals from the beginning. Which is the right to exist. To live and prosper in public. Without fear of persecution or threat of violence.”
Justice then shared photos of himself and Nicholas to “show some #blackboyjoy #blacklove #blackqueerlove,” calling Nicholas his “rock and guiding light”.
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