Kissing Couple From Canucks Riot Tell Their Amazing Story
This photo created an Internet frenzy. It’s of a couple kissing in the middle of a riot in Vancouver following the Canucks’ 4-0 loss to Boston in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
And now they’ve done an interview with CBC News to tell their amazing story:
Freelance photographer Rich Lam snapped the surreal photo for Getty Images — one of the world’s largest photography agencies. He told Postmedia News that he thought someone had been hurt.
“I didn’t really see what I really had until after I gave my memory cards (to an editor on site) and someone said ‘Oh, nice picture of the couple kissing,’” Lam said.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, they’re making out.’ Here I thought she was hurt and kind of had a sympathetic guy . . . but they’re making out.”
The man in the photo is 29-year-old Scott Jones from Perth, Australia. He’s been living in Vancouver for six months.
“It is something he would do — that’s our boy,” said Scott’s mother, Megan, when she first saw the photo. “He has always lived in his own world. He’s special like that. He doesn’t always connect with what [is] going on around him. I knew it was him because he doesn’t have a lot of clothes with him and he always puts on the same thing.”
Scott’s sister, Hannah, originally identified the woman in the photo as Canadian Alex Thomas and said the two had been dating.
Jones’ father, Brett, said the couple had been at the hockey game. After the Canucks lost, the two were caught up in the violence.
“They were between the riot police and the rioters, and the riot police were actually charging forward, and Alex got knocked by a [police] shield and fell to the ground,” he told CBC News. “[Scott] was comforting her and gave her a kiss to say, ‘It’s going to be OK,’ and the photographer just took the shot at that moment.”
Here’s video showing how police knocked down the couple:
Scott is fine. Alex suffered a bruised leg after falling to the ground. The two are overwhelmed by all the media attention the picture has received.
Meantime, Australian celebrity agent Max Markson said the pair hired his PR firm to explore the potential for cashing in on their fame. Jones is reportedly interested in a career in entertainment.
“I think for Scott, it’s a tremendous opportunity for him to springboard his acting and stand-up comedy,” Markson told the Toronto Star. “Overseas people know more about that photo than the Stanley Cup.”
Markson is handling requests for interviews, endorsements and job opportunities while Jones and Thomas are on vacation.
Photo: @MichaelRCaputo via Twitpic.
Vancouver bites, ohhowcute and tara:
Did you not watch the video? It was not fake at all. Don’t make conclusions based on sheer ignorance. You can see in the video how they are knocked to the ground, hit with riot shields, and then left alone. She was crying and in pain. Get the info before you make such dumb statements.