Outrage of the Day: Racist anti-gay marriage poster goes viral

While many around the world are celebrating France for being the 14th nation to allow same-sex marriage, the new law is facing a severe blowback at home, both on social media and in the streets.

The virulent reaction by same-sex marriage opponents, however, while always heated, may have finally crossed a line.

The poster shown above, designed by an anti-same sex marriage activist, has sparked outrage for depicting France’s minister of justice, French Guiana-born Christiane Taubira, who is black, as an angry gorilla being overwhelmed by demonstrators from the “Manif Pour Tous,” France's largest anti-same sex organization.

According to EuroNews, the slogan written in the top left corner of the poster, is a play on words: “manif monstre” means ‘giant demo.’ 

The picture, posted on Monday night, quickly went viral on Twitter, renewing heated exchanges between anti- and pro-same sex marriage activists.

By Tuesday morning, however, the owner of the Twitter account where the image was first posted, deleted the controversial picture.

"I confirm that I acted on my own, without racist intention. Sorry if it has hurt. I withdraw the picture but it is a misunderstanding. I used an already existing monster picture,” the Twitter user said.

Additionally, the official Twitter account of “La Manif Pour Tous," @lamanifpourtous, advised followers that, “the only news and posters to take into account for the May 26 [protest] are those tweeted by this account.”

French legislators approved the bill legalizing same-sex marriage in France on April 23 after hours of heated parliamentary debates, massive demonstrations from both sides, and rising tensions in French society.

In the wake of the historic vote, France has seen an uptick in violent protests, homophobic attacks, and a stream of offensive trending Twitter hashtags.

And while the passage of the law — dubbed "Marriage for Everyone" — has been considered a victory for President Francois Hollande and the Socialist Party platform on which he campaigned, the ad hoc but energetic opposition movement, "Manif pour tous," or "Protest for Everyone," isn't accepting defeat — at least, not yet.