Andre Soriano, the dress designer who created the infamous "Make America Great Again" worn at the 2017 Grammy Awards, has been forced to take down signs supporting former President Donald Trump, Fox News reported. The city of Occoquan, Virginia, cited Soriano for the signs after "Karens" made trouble and complained.
Philippines immigrant Soriano said he was trying to express his First Amendment rights by hanging signs in favor of Trump at the building where he has both his business and residence. Unfortunately, local women made it impossible for him.
One woman complained to the police, who issued a notice to take down the signs. The dress designer said, "I actually started a flag war here in Occoquan, Virginia."
Soriano would display his signs and the infamous dress in front of the store but found that they attracted hostility. "The reason I put my Trump dress outside is, so I don't have to encounter [this]," the designer shared.
Prior to creating the infamous gown, Soriano dressed the likes of Courtney Love, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, and Rhianna. Once singer and songwriter Joy Villa donned the pro-Trump gown at the music awards show, his career suffered.
The navy blue trumpet gown was patterned after a Trump campaign banner and features the then-president's slogan bedazzled in white sparkles. The crisscross back leads to the body of the dress down to a train featuring Trump's name.
Singer Joy Villa Wears MAGA dress to the Grammy Awards ceremony!
Troll level 5000 ! Snowflakes will be triggered ! 😂#ERedCarpet pic.twitter.com/BJi2f9rPZ3
— Unfiltered☢Boss (@Unfilteredboss1) February 12, 2017
The red carpet exposure that most designers clamor for to raise their profiles led to a very different result for Soriano. "That's when our lives changed. We had death threats," the designer shared.
"There are a lot of celebrities in Hollywood that are very divisive, and they didn't really like President Trump," Soriano added. Still, Soriano was determined to have his say.
Soriano's dress and signs caused one woman so much distress that she confronted him outside the store. A friend and political activist Audra Johnson came to film the dust-up after Soriano asked for her help. "I have a video of her hiding in a bush. I don’t know what she was doing," Johnson explained.
Soriano can be heard on one of the videos saying, "This wokeism is real. The ‘Karens’ are real. They're crying for nothing. Because of a sign. Come on." The term "Karen" is an insult applied to entitled white women, and it seemed to fit this time.
The confrontation with this woman resulted in her being coddled by police officers and later supported by the city in her bid to limit Soriano's free speech. The dressmaker received two citations despite America being the "land of the free, not the land of what people think."
Soriano added, "I'm an American designer. I am free to express and create whatever I want." Besides this incident, Soriano said he is subject to other types of harassment, including women throwing stink bombs in the store and hurling insults.
Trump's name triggers leftists, who call for all sorts of limits on free speech so they don't have to see something they don't agree with. Soriano is correct that this is antithetical to American ideals, and Trump is the only politician who is furiously working to restore these norms.
