From celebitchy, One of our most commented-on stories last week was the news that celebrities were calling for a boycott of Chick-fil-A after their President stated firmly, and publicly, that he was against same sex marriage. We’ve previously heard that the fast food chain had donated millions to Christian groups working to block gay marriage, but they handled that news last year by claiming they welcomed all customers and did not have a political agenda. With President Dan Cathy’s latest statement that “We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit,” he had drawn a very clear line in the sand, not just personally but as the representative of a company that served the public. He seemed to be speaking for all of Chick-fil-A’s owners. Many people took sides and decided not to give them their business any more.
Cathy’s statement also cost the company at least one business relationship. The Jim Henson company, whose Muppet “Creature Shop toys” were included in Chick-fil-A kids meals as of last week, has pulled all toys from the chain. They issued a statement that it was due to Chick-fil-A’s stance on gay marriage. The fast food chain has signs up (image above) claiming the toys were removed due safety concerns, but the Jim Henson company has made it clear that isn’t the case. They posted the following statement on their Facebook page:
"The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-Fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors. Lisa Henson, our CEO is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-Fil-A to GLAAD."
4 comments:
Yeah! Way to go Jim Henson Company!! That's awesome.
I think more children's icons need to be made political -- Cars 2 included a story line involving "clean fuel."
When will Dora the Explorer platform for immigrant's rights? when will SpongeBob advocate for cleaner oceans? how about Snoopy highlighting the importance of adopting animals from shelters rather than buying from breeders? The possibilities are ENDLESS!
Good call Crystal Math! And way to go Muppets!
Hooray for the Henson Company! Hit 'em in the wallet.
Does that mean there are thousands of orphaned Muppet kid's toys somewhere? Perhaps my humongous Medieval Frogs vs. Pigs battle diorama will get finished after all.
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