There will be gay couples; it will exist. It is not very nice

Hearken, O seekers of wisdom, to the words of Karl Lagerfeld, who, though famed for his mastery of design, spoke here not of garments but of justice and compassion: “There will be gay couples; it will exist. It is not very nice that people who are married—who divorce in three seconds—don’t want protection for the others. The legal system should protect everyone, not just the few people who think they are above everybody else because they are married.” In these words lies a meditation upon equality, hypocrisy, and the duty of society to extend the shield of law to all its citizens, not merely to the privileged or the favored.

Since the earliest dawn of civilization, the union between human beings—whether sanctified by custom, religion, or law—has been both a symbol and a structure of social order. Yet too often, the same institutions that celebrate love have denied recognition to those whose love does not conform to tradition. Lagerfeld, in his blunt and worldly wisdom, calls out this contradiction: that those who treat marriage lightly, divorcing in haste, are often the same who resist extending the same rights to gay couples, as though their own imperfect adherence to the ideal grants them moral authority.

In ancient times, laws reflected the prejudices of the powerful. In Rome, citizenship was once confined to men of property; in Athens, women and slaves were excluded from political life. Yet as the centuries turned, societies grew wiser, realizing that protection under the law is the foundation of harmony. The same transformation continues in our own age: the struggle for gay couples to marry is not merely about ceremony or celebration, but about security—inheritance, healthcare, family recognition, and the dignity of equality. Lagerfeld’s words remind us that these “legal and financial protections,” though dismissed by some as minor, are the scaffolding of justice.

Consider the story of Edie Windsor, whose love for her partner, Thea Spyer, endured over four decades. When Thea passed away, the government denied Edie the spousal exemption from estate tax because their marriage, performed in Canada, was not recognized under U.S. law. She was forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars simply because of who she loved. Edie’s courage in challenging this injustice led to the Supreme Court’s historic decision in United States v. Windsor (2013), which struck down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act. Her triumph embodies Lagerfeld’s call for a legal system that “protects everyone.”

Lagerfeld’s words also pierce the veil of hypocrisy that often shrouds social privilege. He speaks of those who “divorce in three seconds,” those who claim to defend the sanctity of marriage even as they violate it with indifference. His tone is both moral and ironic—a reminder that the strength of society is not preserved by exclusion but by integrity. To claim superiority through status while denying protection to others is not virtue; it is vanity. The designer who clothed emperors of fashion thus unveiled the naked truth about human arrogance.

From this reflection emerges a timeless lesson: equality under law is not a gift to be bestowed, but a right to be recognized. The measure of civilization lies not in its ceremonies, but in its compassion. A legal system that serves only the privileged corrodes its own foundation; one that embraces all, regardless of who they love, affirms the sacred dignity of humanity.

O seekers of wisdom, let this teaching take root in your hearts. Defend the rights of those whose love or life differs from your own. Recognize that the law is not the servant of prejudice, but the guardian of fairness. Extend your empathy beyond the familiar; celebrate the courage of those who love freely and demand equality bravely.

Take this teaching into your daily life: challenge injustice, speak for those denied protection, and remember that fairness is not measured by conformity, but by compassion. In this, you honor both the spirit of Lagerfeld’s wisdom and the ancient ideal that true justice belongs to all who dwell within the realm of human dignity. For as long as the law protects all, society remains whole; when it favors the few, it begins to unravel.