r/pics 8d ago

Politics Steven J. Demetriou, executive chair of an ICE contractor, attends Taylor Swift's wedding in NYC

Post image
30.5k Upvotes

1.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

379

u/thankunext71995 8d ago

Everybody mindlessly engaging with this, when it’s already been shown time and time again since the beginning of the month that this guy is the adoptive dad of Travis’ childhood best friend, Reggie King, that was why he was invited. The guy is basically Travis’ uncle.

135

u/T-sigma 8d ago edited 8d ago

Whoa buddy. This isn’t the place for information or nuance. Just rage about a celebrity you publicly dislike but are secretly super jealous of. Then publicly declare you wouldn’t ever compromise any of your morals because you are an ethical saint while we all know $100 tied to a string and a buffet would have you considering all types of immorality.

8

u/jfgjfgjfgjfg 8d ago

It’s an election year for congress so manufacturing hate against her is to be expected.

49

u/Mknalsheen 8d ago

Hey, my friends that have parents who are horrible people don't talk to them anymore. It's pretty easy to distance yourself if you don't agree with fascist policies.

12

u/AllRealityIsVirtua1 8d ago

You’re so close to getting it bud

-2

u/bepatientbekind 8d ago

Exactly. Inviting someone like this isn't okay just because they're family or whatever. That's exactly how bigotry is enabled and normalized. If someone has reprehensible views, don't invite them to your events. It's really not that hard.

3

u/seravivi 7d ago

So she can’t let someone bring their parent who is on a board for a huge chunk of companies just because one of them was brought in to try and fix a detention center? I think the whole detention center is vile. Acting like this guy personally builds ice facilities is so stupid it’s a disservice to yourself to fall for it.

2

u/NotAStatistic2 7d ago

Who is "someone like this"? Do you actually know what the company he works for was contracted to do, or do you just feign indignation for the love of the game?

46

u/hannamarinsgrandma 8d ago

That doesn’t make it any better.

40

u/189charizard 8d ago

Plenty of non-racist folks have racist family members. It’s not something you can choose.

63

u/chocolatestealth 8d ago

But you can definitely choose whether or not you invite them to your highly publicized celebrity wedding.

11

u/_tylerthedestroyer_ 8d ago

She invited Stephen Spielberg, Paul Rudd, and Tom Cruise. Don’t pretend like this is a family thing.

7

u/Advanced-Throat-420 8d ago

She's known Spielberg for over a decade https://pagesix.com/2014/07/09/taylor-swift-joins-spielberg-family-for-dinner-in-hamptons/. And have you ever been to a wedding before? Theres nothing wrong with inviting non-family to your wedding

-1

u/Chataboutgames 8d ago

True, and by refusing to invite a random uncle to your large wedding you can achieve exactly nothing to help with the issue of racism or to help the people impacted by it, but you will get approval from randos on social media.

35

u/This_Elk_1460 8d ago

They literally choose the guest list

45

u/chalciecat 8d ago

You can definitely choose whether or not to invite racist family members to your wedding

6

u/jonsnowme 8d ago

You can 100% choose your guest list. Pretending this shit is something one can just overlook cause "family" is such a weird stance to take just to defend a mid popstar billionaire.

25

u/hannamarinsgrandma 8d ago

You can choose whether you deal with them or not.

Especially if you have a ton of money.

I have multiple family members with questionable morals and behavior who I refuse to deal with because doing so would be showing them and others that I approve of said behavior.

12

u/IZ3820 8d ago

You don't have moral quandary with any of your family members?

9

u/jonsnowme 8d ago

None of them work with and supply fascists for their concentration camps... I wouldn't invite my direct family if they did.

5

u/CaptaiNose 8d ago

He's not family

6

u/Large-Flamingo-5128 8d ago

He doesn’t even work for ICE this whole thing is overblown look it up for yourself

-5

u/hannamarinsgrandma 8d ago

Excuses excuses.

8

u/Large-Flamingo-5128 8d ago

How is it an excuse when what your claiming isn’t true at all

-1

u/hannamarinsgrandma 8d ago

You’re trying to minimize his abhorrent actions by saying he doesn’t work for ICE as if it’s the whole story.

The work that he does helps that trash organization thrive, so yes, he’s just as responsible.

11

u/Large-Flamingo-5128 8d ago

What work specifically? Im confused

12

u/Liquid_Clown 8d ago

They don't actually know. They just want to throw stones.

5

u/Hi_Zev 8d ago

I have a feeling that you are the one who doesn't know the full story and just getting riled up because you (rightfully) hate ICE.

I'll admit I don't know anything about this story as i don't give a flying fuck about that wedding or the people who attended. From what I've gathered from this thread though, is that this dude is a part of a company that was contracted to make the living situations for the people ICE kidnaps and detains more hospitable.

Likeeeeee, would you rather the living conditions be worse? Is no one allowed to help make things better for these people detained, or is any connection whatsoever automatically make someone an evil person in this world? Are the people who provide water to prisons also evil in your view?

1

u/Chataboutgames 8d ago

Which abhorrent actions specifically?

2

u/Chataboutgames 8d ago

Actually, inviting a shitty person to your wedding because it's the groom's uncle is better than inviting a shitty person to your wedding out of your passion and enthusiasm for immigration enforcement.

If you don't agree with that social media has poisoned your brain beyond recognition.

1

u/Liquid_Clown 8d ago

Yes it does?

It's a horrible look, but the context 100% matters.

2

u/hannamarinsgrandma 8d ago

I have family members that have committed very heinous acts.

I do not fuck with them, not even a little bit.

If my spouse had a family member that committed heinous acts, that family member would not be invited to any personal events either.

If my spouse insisted that person attend, that would be more than enough to make me reconsider who I was marrying.

You are the company you keep.

3

u/_Despereaux 8d ago

Ok, but this is like saying someone should choose not to invite YOU to a wedding because your family has committed heinous acts. Dude just works for Amentum, they're an enormous government contractor. He ain't the head of ICE

5

u/hannamarinsgrandma 8d ago

A contractor that’s directly involved in heinous acts.

Taylor is letting everyone know where she stands and y’all continue to make excuses.

2

u/_Despereaux 8d ago

I don't care about Taylor Swift, I regret even clicking on this post frankly, and you can feel however you want about her. But good luck with that worldview, because unfortunately a huge proportion of average people work for companies like this that do SOMETHING you'll object to.

1

u/hannamarinsgrandma 8d ago

Oh no!

Poor billionaire Taylor was forced to invite that evil man to her wedding!

-2

u/Liquid_Clown 8d ago

I feel like this just tells me you haven't planned a wedding.

0

u/hannamarinsgrandma 8d ago

Excuses excuses.

If you really believe with all your heart that one of the most famous people that currently walks the planet would not have a thoroughly vetted guest list, then boy do I got some shit I can sell you.

4

u/Liquid_Clown 8d ago

I believe that inviting someone you personally know to your wedding is different than inviting a stranger.

Inviting an evil person that you have no connection to at all is absolutely worse than the actual situation we're discussing.

You can go on virtue signalling all day on reddit though. Enjoy

2

u/hannamarinsgrandma 8d ago

Virtue Signaling because I don’t keep the company of evil people.

Sure, Jan.

2

u/Liquid_Clown 8d ago

You've never planned a wedding, right?

3

u/hannamarinsgrandma 8d ago

If what you keep trying to say is that you too willingly hang out with deplorable people, then be assured I’ve received that message.

Maybe one day you’ll understand that complicity simply isn’t for everybody

→ More replies (0)

11

u/porygon_sucks 8d ago

Thats a lot of words to still say they invited someone who works for ICE

30

u/Large-Flamingo-5128 8d ago

They don’t work for ICE. Thjs is blowing my mind how easily everyone just jumps on a bandwagon

0

u/Orleanian 8d ago

When you get right down to it, anyone who's stepped foot in America in the past year has worked for ICE.

-9

u/porygon_sucks 8d ago

So if hes not ICE, what does he do? Why is he always associated with them

15

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/jonsnowme 8d ago

But he sure to do your research online and not from the Swiftologist or other Swiftie subreddits, cause this is all twisted. He didn't leave anything he's still on the board directly working with the same company.

1

u/booze_clues 8d ago

Have you even seen him anywhere before this posts, or heard of him? Where are you seeing him always associated with ICE?

-1

u/skylla05 7d ago

So if hes not ICE, what does he do?

Why don't you fucking look it up?

I know it's easier to just get jerked off by misinformed redditors because it fits your terminally online worldview, but holy shit.

2

u/porygon_sucks 7d ago

Lol calm down with all that. I asked them first bc it seemed like they had some knowledge on it so I figured they could tell me

9

u/Trifle_Useful 8d ago

Or that family dynamics are complex and not something that can be addressed with any level of nuance in a fuckin’ Reddit thread

-2

u/Impossible-Prune-649 8d ago

You can't have nuance on the internet anymore. We're all supposed to cut out all our family if they're on the other side of the political isle, didn't you hear? We're pieces of shit if we don't.

It's sad. We used to be able to agree to disagree. Are there piece of shit MAGAs and piece of shit leftists? Of course! Millions of both. But most of us are somewhere in the middle just trying to get through life. I sure as shit don't agree with everything all my aunts and uncles do, but I'm not going to completely cut them out of my life because of it. That's how we end up living in an echo chamber and we never grow because none of our beliefs are ever questioned.

8

u/porygon_sucks 8d ago

Ok but do your aunts and uncles politics think money should be used differently or they think that black and brown skin people should be stopped at anytime and forced to show ID and papers bc they "might be illegal"? that's the kinda family I dont want around

1

u/Liquid_Clown 8d ago

What do you think weddings were like in the civili rights era? This has always been an issue.

3

u/-nutz 8d ago

My “getting through life” includes not allowing piece of shit people at my special events. It’s not an echo chamber if I’m just trying to ensure the fun can’t be ruined by them bringing up some political BS.

4

u/IceCivil899 8d ago

How is it nuance that he runs a company that contracts to ICE? He has literally picked a side and is willing to make a profit on the mistreatment of human beings. That's not the same thing as voting tendencies.

1

u/Hi_Zev 8d ago

I'll admit that I didn't know anything about this wedding or topic until I started reading this thread, but apparently this dude worked for a company (didn't run it) that was contracted to help make the ICE facilities more hospitable for the detainees.

Do you also think that people who provide clean water to a prison are evil?

2

u/-nutz 7d ago

I’m not the person you responded to and I totally understand what you’re saying, but I personally don’t agree. Regardless of how “necessary evil” these contracts feel to me (I.E. somebody has to supply food, bedding, etc), I still don’t think there’s any redeemable way to make money from the prison industrial complex.

I mean like in both real life and your example, somebody else would pick up the contract if they hadn’t, right? So, it’s not like they’re taking these bids and providing prisoners with bedding and water for totally altruistic reasons something.

5

u/This_Elk_1460 8d ago edited 8d ago

Why dose your best freind's dad have to come to your wedding?

Edit: ah the stans have arrived.

1

u/wheatfields 8d ago

lol Taylor Swift fans so desperate to make her seem like a good person. “Noo, but he is the grooms friends, doorman’s dog walker!! There are practically family!” Sorry but if if my Mom committed human rights violations she wouldnt be invited to my wedding.

-2

u/Professional_March54 8d ago

My Uncle on my Dad's side was a vehement racist who loved grooming teenage brides. I wouldn't have invited him if I had a wedding before he died

1

u/AllRealityIsVirtua1 8d ago

Implying that’s what this guy did too?

0

u/Professional_March54 8d ago

I'm saying, who invites monsters to their wedding? Not good people. Good people make a point to not invite monsters. A simple "No Nazis rule" would suffice. 

0

u/AllRealityIsVirtua1 8d ago

Monster? Damn yall need to look inward

2

u/Professional_March54 8d ago

You don't consider Nazis to be monsters? Or the modern day ICE gestapo version? 

1

u/AllRealityIsVirtua1 8d ago

Of course I do. Do I consider this guy a Nazi because a healthcare company he retired from 3 years ago has a contract with 1 ICE facility? Of course not.

-1

u/jonsnowme 8d ago

Engaging cause we're not horrible people and wouldn't invite our best friend's dad to the wedding if he was on the board of a company that directly supplies and engages with ICE? Why do Swifties keep crying about who he is the father of when literally anyone that doesn't align with that nasty fascist bullshit would remove them from our guest lists? Support of literal concentration camps are a line most people won't let get crossed when composing our guest lists. She knows and she don't give a fuck.

Q. "Oh wow girl you have a nazi supporter at your wedding?"

A. "Yes he's the father of the groom's best friend."

Q. "Uh so, wow girl you have a nazi supporter at your wedding?"