What's With That Riot Kiss?

The earth moved for two apparent Vancouver lovers, but it wasn't because of the riots. Though the city went completely bonkers when the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup, the two were captured in a photo locked in "The Kiss" that has captivated the public. Bizarrely, the pair's juicy embrace, lying in a stretch of street among baton-wielding riot cops, appears more like a scene in an edgy Vogue shot than journalism. Many viewers speculate the shot was staged. A new photo has emerged to show men standing around the isolated couple, adding fuel to the theory. But the photographer who snapped the scene insists it's for real—though he believes the woman may have been hurt, not hugging.

Canada-based photographer Richard Lam spotted the couple after fleeing riot cops, then stopping and looked back. "I noticed in the space behind the line of police that two people were lying in the street with the riot police and a raging fire just beyond," he recalls. "I knew I had captured a 'moment' when I snapped them against the backdrop of such chaos, but it wasn't until later when I returned my photos that my editor pointed out that the two people were not hurt, but kissing"—though he's not completely convinced. Everyone has been asking him who they are, Lam tells the Guardian. "I have no idea." (Click to see the most hilarious "Vancouver riot kiss" memes to have already popped up online.)