WHAT THEY’RE SAYING--Chick-fil-A says it’s going to stop donating to anti-LGBTQ organizations as it tries to expand its business into more liberal parts of the country and abroad.
The fast food chain got headlines a decade ago when they were caught donating to anti-LGBTQ organizations. At the time, the company’s CEO defended the donations and made anti-LGBTQ comments himself. After media attention, Chick-fil-A said that they would stop.
But earlier this year, the Chick-fil-A Foundation’s tax forms showed that it was donating to anti-LGBTQ organizations like the Salvation Army, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Paul Anderson Youth Home in Atlanta, which called homosexuality “evil” and caused by “sexual, physical, and mental abuse of children” as recently as 2017.
The company has faced repercussions for its donations, getting forced out of college campuses and airports and protested in schools and in Canada. Their first location in England was forced off its lease by the land owner after protests. At the same time, conservatives made Chick-fil-A a symbol for their fight against LGBTQ equality.
Now they claim they are turning a new leaf.
Talking to the financial website Bisnow, Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos said that they are aware of the bad press they’ve been getting.
“There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are,” Tassopoulos said. “There are lots of articles and newscasts about Chick-fil-A, and we thought we needed to be clear about our message.” (Read the rest.) -cw
