WOMAN PLANS TO WED 91-YEAR-OLD CHANDELIER SHE FOUND ON EBAY

Amanda Liberty, 35, a woman from Leeds, England, planned a commitment ceremony with Lumiere, a 91-year-old chandelier she fell for on eBay and bought for $500. Liberty identifies as objectum sexual, meaning she is attracted to inanimate objects, and said her love for Lumiere was valid.

The story was reported by the Mirror and picked up by the New York Post on July 19, 2019. Liberty regards Lumiere as female.

She said it was love at first light. Liberty told the outlet she could not stop thinking about the chandelier’s shape after seeing the listing, and that she felt “really amazing energy coming from her.” She decided Lumiere had to be hers and paid $500.

“I’m determined to have this commitment ceremony, to prove that I’m here for Lumiere and that my love is going to last,” Liberty said.

She admitted she could not marry a light fixture in the traditional sense. She said that did not make the relationship any less valid.

Rings, a dress and a lot of polishing

Liberty had the guest list roughly worked out, if not the outfit. “I’m not sure what dress I’ll wear and will invite those closest to us. I’ll also be buying matching wedding rings for Lumiere and myself,” she said.

SYFY reported on July 23, 2019 that she had been polishing Lumiere to get ready. OK Whatever reported that no date had been set for the ceremony.

Lumiere was not her only light fixture. Liberty described her relationship with multiple light fixtures as open, which is a lot to keep dusted.

She also restores chandeliers in her spare time. “I restore the chandeliers in my spare time so they can continue to interest people as they like to be the center of attention,” she said.

Commitment was not new to her. The Post reported that she changed her surname from Whittaker during an earlier long-distance relationship with the Statue of Liberty.

Liberty knew how it all sounded. “I know a lot of people think my attraction to chandeliers is strange, but I’m not crazy,” she said.

“I’m not hurting anyone by entering into a relationship with them, I am simply just following my heart,” she added.

The Sun column and the press complaint

The attention followed her into the British papers. In December 2019, Sun columnist Jane Moore wrote a piece that described Liberty as having married a chandelier-style light fitting and mocked the idea, Press Gazette reported.

Liberty said she and Lumiere were in a relationship, not married. She complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), arguing that the column was pejorative about her orientation and described her relationship inaccurately.

The Sun said the Editors’ Code reference to sexual orientation concerned attraction to people, not objects. The paper said it knew of no reputable definition that included objectum sexual. VICE reported that the Sun also said it did not doubt her attraction to chandeliers was genuine, only that the column was not discriminatory.

IPSO sided with the paper. “Clause 12 provides protection to individuals in relation to their sexual orientation towards other persons and not to objects,” the regulator said.

“The complainant’s attraction to an object did not fall within the definition of sexual orientation as provided by Clause 12 and the terms of Clause 12 were not engaged,” IPSO said.

IPSO said it recognised that Liberty found the article offensive and upsetting, but the code did not cover matters of taste and offence. Press Gazette reported the dismissal on April 14, 2020.

Liberty told LeedsLive she had expected IPSO to side with the Sun, according to VICE, but still thought the column was unnecessary.