Two Indonesian Women Apologize For Throwing $13,000 Wedding For Their Dogs After Uproar

Two Indonesian women have apologized after an elaborate wedding for their dogs led to online backlash.

Two Alaskan Malamutes, Jojo and Luna, were wedded on July 14, at a mall in the capital city of Jakarta. They both wore traditional Javanese costumes at a ceremony that cost a reported 200 million rupiah ($13,350). The money was spent on the costume designs, makeup, lighting and renting out the location. There were also prizes and gifts for invited guests.

Social media outrage followed, which led the two owners to appear at a news conference to express their remorse. Flamboyant displays of wealth are often decried due to the country’s increasing income gap.

The minimum monthly wage in Jakarta is 4.9 million rupiah ($327), and the World Bank found last year that nearly 10% of Indonesia’s population of 270 million lives below the poverty line.

Local media found that Indira Ratnasari, one of the dog owners, worked at the Indonesian presidential office.

While Valentine Chandra, the other dog owner, explained that the wedding was a celebration of Javanese culture, many Indonesians expressed their anger on social media.

IN MEMORIAM 2022: 100 GREAT CELEBRITIES WHO DIED IN 2022

“It’s wasting money and defying God. Common sense has gone, trampled by the desire to show off,” a Twitter user wrote.

Another user posted, “Unnecessarily wasting their wealth, they should have helped people in need instead.”