It was not until the Dominica government backed out of their original agreement to just interview us and, once we were in their custody, that the American Embassy was later contacted. government and let him handle the situation. Campbell asked that we not involve the U.S. Embassy on our behalf and inform them that two Americans were being arrested and taken from the ship against their will. I asked Campbell prior to us being taken into custody and escorted off the ship to contact the U.S. I’m also disappointed with myself for not trusting my own instincts when I agreed to let Campbell handle the situation with a Third World government. At the same time, he was also throwing us under the bus with his press releases and comments on Facebook.
We are very thankful for the help known and unknown to us by Atlantis Events, CEO Rich Campbell and others. The real question is not what we were doing on our balcony, but why is one of the largest promoters of gay cruises and events taking folks from the LGBT community to these countries with laws against homosexuals on their books? Why are they financially supporting these countries? These countries have laws against consenting adult gay men and women who engage in intimate contact and in some cases just for the existence of their sexual orientation. We were six stories up and approximately 150 to 200 yards from where the ship was anchored. When you pay the kind of money to have a Sky Suite, you have an expectation of some level of privacy. We were on vacation enjoying the company of each other and not putting on a show for anyone. Let’s get back to what my partner of 17 years (a fact that was not reported) and I were doing: This was not some hookup the way it was portrayed. Let’s not kid ourselves: the promoter and CEO of Atlantis Events, Rich Campbell, markets these cruises and events with sex, with advertisement taglines like “Anything Goes” picturing scantly clad men promoting the circuit-party lifestyle. That is why people go on these types of cruises. They are out there with their partners or some hookup at the nightly circuit party or under the cloak of darkness on their hands and knees on the “13th” deck, looking for a dick to put into their mouth or up their ass. Albeit, not in port or on their balcony, but when the ship is out at sea. It was also reported that fellow passengers on board complained, which we find hard to believe because most passengers on board are doing the same thing we were.
I’m sure if it had been a naked women they would have continued to stare and most likely would have commented on her breasts. The complaints came from Dominica dock workers, who were offended. If so many were reported being offended, then why take photos or videos and continue to watch us in the first place? Apparently, many did to their sheer enjoyment of what they were viewing. You can see it in the infamous photo that Queerty published, which we are neither offended or ashamed by. We were on the privacy of our stateroom balcony as the ship was being moored into port. The media and others have reported we were engaged in sex in front of women, children and out in the city streets. In addition, we were expatriated and deported from their country at our own expense. The Magistrate excepted our guilty plea, set a fine in the matter and then released us from custody.
We entered a guilt plea to the charge of indecent exposure. We have never denied our responsibility for our indiscretion. Had we been found guilty of buggery, we were facing a prison sentence of up to 14 years in a Third World country.