Man who originally posted blue dress illusion charged with trying to kill wife

The Scottish man who broke the internet in 2015 over his mother-in-law’s viral dress is now being charged with attempted murder.

Keir Johnston, 38, appeared at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday (July 10) after being charged with the attempted murder of his wife, Grace Johnston.

He had allegedly committed over a decade of domestic violence acts and coercive control against Grace, reportedly leading him to trying to strangle her last March.

Johnston has denied all charges against him. The charges, between April 2019 and March 2022, include pushing his wife against a wall, shouting at her, and threatening to kill her and brandishing a knife towards her.

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It has also been reported that he allegedly dragged his wife from a pub whilst placing her in a headlock after she refused to leave with him. Further charges also claim that Johnston isolated his wife from her friends and family, as well as closely monitoring her movements and finances, deciding how much she was allowed access to.

Johnston and his wife became viral sensations after his mother-in-law’s dress divided social media after being shared to Tumblr by a guest at their wedding. The dress became a phenomenon after some users saw it as blue and black whilst others thought it was white and gold. It became so popular that Johnston and his wife appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

#TheDressyoutu.be

The dress ended up being labelled as “the dress that broke the internet”, with celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and Chrissy Teigan weighing in on the debate.

Original photo of ‘The Dress’Tumblr Cecilia Bleasdale

The attempted murder case will get a preliminary hearing before going to trial in 2024.

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