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This post was updated on May 5th include the response from the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA).
On Saturday, socialite and philanthropist Suzanne Rogers shared a series of Stories on her Instagram account showing her and her family at Mar-A-Lago, Donald Trump’s resort in Florida. One of the Stories showed Rogers (with her husband, Rogers Communications chairman Edward Rogers, and her two sons) posing with Trump as he gave his signature thumbs-up to camera. She captioned the all-smiles photograph: “A special way to end the night!”
The backlash to the posts was almost instantaneous, and continues to reverberate through Canada’s tight-knit fashion community, and beyond. On Tuesday afternoon, Rogers issued a statement, saying in part: “No political statement, on any policy was intended by that photograph,” after an explanation that she has no relationship “good or otherwise” with Trump, had never met him before and they only took the photo “in mere seconds of interaction after dinner” that evening. “Taking and posting it was done without taking the false assumptions and implications that would be made about my personal beliefs. I regret that my actions caused anyone to question my values or commitment to the causes and communities my family and I hold so dear.” Elsewhere in the statement, she wrote: “I have always believed in equality, diversity, inclusiveness and respect for all.”