Husband Behind ‘Dress That Broke the Internet’ Charged With Attempted Murder Of Wife
The Today Show Cover Viral Dress Illusion, February 2015
The groom at the wedding that resulted in the mega viral photo now referred to as “The Dress That Broke The Internet” has been charged with attempting to kill his bride, whose mother wore the dress photographed and shared by a guest.
Keir Johnston, whose mother-in-law wore the dress to his 2015 wedding, is accused of fomenting a campaign of domestic violence against his wife that was so fierce, he has now been charged with her attempted murder.
The couple found worldwide fame after a wedding guest posted a photo of the dress on tumblr and asked what colors people could see. According to The Daily Mail, “the image of the dress was generating up to 11,000 Tweets per minute under the hashtag ‘#TheDress.'” It even had its own exhibit at a museum in Germany.
The dress sparked an international debate, with millions of people weighing in on whether the dress appeared to be black and blue or white and gold. According to The Daily Mail:
Celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift also shared it. The couple went on to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where they were handed $10,000 and a trip to Grenada after revealing on US TV was black and blue.
The 38-year-old Johnston appeared in Glasgow’s High Court this week, accused of perpetrating a nearly 11-year campaign of domestic violence that culminated in an alleged attempt to strangle his wife at knifepoint.
According to Scottish media STVNews:
Johnston’s charges include, between April 2019 and March 2022, pushing his wife against a wall, shouting at her and throttling her, before threatening to kill her.
He is also alleged to have attempted to enter a vehicle that his wife was in and striking her through its open window.
Johnston also allegedly placed his wife in a headlock and dragged her from a pub after she refused to leave with him.
Further charges claim he isolated his wife from her friends and monitored her movements and her finances, controlling the amount of money that she had access to.
Johnston has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
Ironically, the dress was once featured in a domestic abuse campaign, worn by a woman whose face was battered black and blue. The tagline read:
“Why is it so hard to see black and blue? The only illusion is if you think it was her choice. One in six women are victims of abuse. Stop abuse against women.”
Read the story here.
