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Glee Actor 'Through With' Chick-fil-A; Activists Cook Up Kiss-in, Protests
Glee Actor 'Through With' Chick-fil-A; Activists Cook Up Kiss-in, Protests
Glee's Grant Gustin tweets that he'll no longer patronize the fast-food chain, while activists plan a kiss-in and other actions in protest of the company's funding of antigay groups.
The chickens are continuing to come home to roost for fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, with a Glee actor registering his objections to the company's antigay donations and a kiss-in and other protests planned.
Grant Gustin, who plays gay student Sebastian Smythe on Glee, sent a Twitter message yesterday saying he's "officially done with Chick-fil-A." The straight Gustin has been supportive of LGBT people and causes for some time; last April he appeared at the GLAAD Media Awards with Glee castmate Max Adler, introducing the family of Jamey Rodemeyer, a youth who committed suicide following antigay bullying.
Other actions against Chick-fil-A include the National Same-Sex Kiss Day, scheduled for August 3. Organizers of the event are asking same-sex pairs to kiss at their local Chick-fil-A at 8 p.m. Eastern time, 7 p.m. Central, and 5 p.m. Pacific. More information is available on Facebook.
A protest is scheduled at the grand opening of a Chick-fil-A in Laguna Hills, Calif., Thursday. And next Wednesday, August 1, LGBT supporters are asked to donate the value of a Chick-fil-A dinner --about $6.50 -- to their local gay rights organization.
Meanwhile, government officials in some large cities are lining up against Chick-fil-A in light of revelations about the company's donations to antigay groups and executive Dan Cathy's recent admission that he is "guilty as charged" with opposing same-sex marriage. Boston mayor Thomas Menino has followed through on a promise to send a letter to the company discouraging it from locating in his city, and Chicago alderman Proco Joe Moreno says he will seek to keep Chick-fil-A from opening in his ward unless it changes its policies. Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel recently said, "Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values."
In related news, according to website Gizmodo, a Chick-fil-A public relations staffer used a stock photo to pose as a teenage girl on Facebook, supporting the company's position that safety issues are the reason it is no longer offering Muppets toys with children's meals. Officials with the Jim Henson Co., which owns rights to the Muppets, say their company was the one that ended the relationship, and it was due to Chick-fil-A's antigay efforts.
