Whole Foods Countersues Pastor over Alleged Anti-Gay Cake Hoax


As one can see in the video, the cake comes in a box with a label on top of it, which the cashier uses to scan the item. When Brown showed the box in his video documenting this supposed hate crime, however, it was on the bottom of the box, indicating that he had removed it to open the container and deface the cake with the slur he claimed to be so offended by.

Not helping Brown’s case is the fact that the baker who prepared the cake for him was gay himself, as Whole Foods made sure to point out:

“The retailer went on to say Brown admitted that he was in sole possession and control of the cake until he posted his video, which showed the UPC label on the bottom and side of the box.

‘After reviewing their security footage of Mr. Brown, it’s clear that the UPC label was in fact on top of the cake box, not on the side of the package,’ Whole Foods said. ‘This is evident as the cashier scans the UPC code on top of the box, which you can view here.’

The company said it continues to stand behind its team members.

‘We stand behind our bakery team member, who is part of the LGBTQ community, and we appreciate the team members and shoppers who recognize that this claim is completely false and directly contradicts Whole Foods Market’s inclusive culture, which celebrates diversity,’ the company said.

More than a half a dozen calls and emails to both Brown and his attorney Austin Kaplan seeking comment were not immediately returned Tuesday .

The two, along with several others, held a news conference at the attorney’s office at 98 San Jacinto Boulevard on Monday. At the event, the group shared pictures of a cake inside a box showing a UPC label on the bottom of the box.”

It would appear that Brown also had financial motivation to file suit:

The pastor at the center ofa legal fight with Whole Foods over a cake with an anti-gay slur written on it is already embroiled in a separate lawsuit that accuses Jordan Brown of defaulting on about $27,000 in student loans.

Brown, a gay pastor at the Church of Open Doors in Austin,filed a lawsuit on Monday against Whole Foods, accusing the Austin-based grocery chain of writing an anti-gay slur on a cake he ordered from the flagship store on Lamar Boulevard earlier this month. The suit, filed by Brown’s attorney Austin Kaplan, requests a jury trial and seeks unspecified damages and monetary relief for mental anguish, court costs and other expenses.

See the video below. The pastor checked out with the cashier at the bottom right register. He was obviously happy with his purchase at the time:

Source: Statesman, Statesman



Share

19 Comments

Leave a Reply

Pin It on Pinterest