After “the dress” worn at their wedding divided the internet, a Scottish couple’s marriage allegedly turned black and blue as the husband is now faced with an attempted murder charge.
In 2015, Keir and Grace Johnston of the Isle of Colonsay, Scotland had their fifteen minutes of fame thanks to an optical illusion that split viewers of a picture of the dress her mom, Cecilia Bleasdale, had picked out for the occasion. Monday, the 38-year-old husband appeared before the High Court in Glasgow where he was accused of 11 years of domestic violence and coercive control that nearly took the life of his wife.
The New York Post detailed the man’s court appearance where he was charged with attempted murder for an incident that occurred on March 6, 2022. On that date, Keir was said to have pinned Grace to the ground when he allegedly compressed her neck, restricting her breathing while lambasting her with threats.
His attempted murder charge was reported as the culmination of years of abuse that stood in stark contrast to the cheery newlywed couple that had joined Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show in 2015. At the time, an image of Bleasdale’s black and blue dress had been posted to Tumblr by their friend Caitlin McNeill after an internal argument that left some perceiving it as white and gold.
Henceforth known as “the dress that broke the internet,” the debate went on to include celebrities like Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West as arguments over the garment’s colors spread online. The debate brought the couple to Hollywood for their appearance on “Ellen” where the host presented them with a $10,000 check and a Caribbean vacation, but charges suggested the honeymoon may well have been over before being interrupted for their television debut.
As previously mentioned, accusations brought against Keir stretched back 11 years with the most violent instances said to have taken place between 2019 and 2022. The alleged abuse, which included instances of waving a knife and strangling her in separate incidents, was also said to have included his slamming her against the wall.
Furthermore, there were a number of public altercations cited before the court, including one instance where Keir was said to have placed Grace in a headlock and dragged her out of a pub after she had refused to leave with him.
Another incident was said to have involved the husband attempting to get into a vehicle that she occupied, an effort that involved his reaching through the window and allegedly striking her.
In addition to the accusations of physical abuse, Keir was said to have isolated Grace from her friends and monitored her finances, determining how much of her money she was allowed to access.
A trial is expected to take place in 2024 after a preliminary hearing.
Social media users harkened back to the debate over the dress as they weighed in on the accusations.
Some of us see attempted murder some of us don’t
— Ryan Totsling (@dumbface5000) July 14, 2023
They had been fighting over the color of the dress since 2015.
— Aedwyne de León (@EMPDL) July 14, 2023
He saw red
— Dan Miller’s Entertainment Creation Studio of TX (@danmillerzone) July 14, 2023
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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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