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Tag: Memories Pizza

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  • When Companies Get It Wrong On Gay Matters

    A number of businesses have found themselves at the end of a boycott, or a viral campaign by the gay community and its allies after denying service or discriminating against LGBT customers. Here is just ten of the most high profile that have happened in the last two years.

    Asher’s Bakery – Historic ruling on gay cake equality.

    The owners of Asher’s Bakery in Northern Ireland, were found to have acted unlawfully in a historic legal case after refusing to make a cake that bore the wording: “Support Gay Marriage.” Gareth Lee, a gay rights activist, took the civil case to court with the support of the Equality Commission. The case became so high profile that Prime Minister David Cameron waded in to comment on his commitment to equality.

    Dolce And Gabbana – Don’t talk about gay parents or IVF.

    The fashion duo found themselves on the end of a long Twitter storm that did untold damage to their luxury brand.

    Speaking to the Italian magazine Panorama, alongside his business partner, Stefano Gabbana, Domenico Dolce said children should be born to a mother and a father, “The only family is a traditional one. I’m not convinced by those I call the chemical children, synthetic babies…They are wombs for hire, semen chosen from a catalogue … psychiatrists are not ready to confront the effects of this experimentation.”

    Stefano Gabbana added: “The family is not a fad.”

    The designing duo did backtrack on what they had said, but the damage had been done by that point.

     

    Sweet Cakes – No cakes for gays.

    Sweet Cakes is a US bakery that was fined $135000 for discriminating against a gay couple. The owners refused to make a wedding cake. The owners went to GoFundMe crowdfunding site to look for donations to pay their fines. After GoFundMe pulled the campaign they started another on ContinueToGive, which saw them raise 3 times the amount they had originally asked for.

     

    Memories Pizza – No pizza for gay weddings.

    The owners of Memories Pizza didn’t actually discriminate but said that they would. The comments went viral and before long the owners said that they had been driven underground. A crowdfunder campaign was started for them, which went on to raise over $800,000 in donations.

     

    Subway – A promo for all couples… Except for gay couples.

    A Subway restaurateur from Angers in France displayed a promotion in his window that excluded gay couples  because the marriage bill for marriage equality hadn’t officially passed. A spokesperson from Subway said, “The SUBWAY® brand is committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment around the world and does not condone discrimination of any kind. We apologize to anyone who was offended by this individual store’s Valentine’s Day promotion in Angers, France. All SUBWAY stores are independently owned and operated. We are working with the owner to reinforce our corporate values and policies.

     

    Armani – Don’t Dress Like A Homosexual.

    Giorgio Armani rattled some feathers when in an interview with The Sunday Times Magazine he said, “A homosexual man is a man 100 per cent. He does not need to dress homosexual.

    “When homosexuality is exhibited to the extreme – to say: ‘Ah, you know I’m homosexual,’ – that has nothing to do with me. A man has to be a man.”

     

    Coca Cola – All about the gay marriage, unless it’s not legal…

    Coco-Cola the world’s biggest drinks manufacturer was slammed for removing a gay couple segment from the Irish version of the advert. The advert was apparently tweaked to fit where the advert is shown – with the gay couple being shown everywhere in Europe where gay marriage and civil partnerships are currently legal. A spokesperson for the drinks company said:

    “The wedding images used in the ad for the UK and in other parts of Europe show two men getting married.

    “The reason this was changed for Ireland is while civil partnership for gay people is legal, gay marriage currently is not. We wanted each ad to be relevant and valid for its own market.”

    Since the adverts creation Ireland went on to legalise same-sex marriage.

     

    Barilla Pasta – Let them eat another brand

    The company which was founded in 1827 and reportedly made €3.9b in revenues in 2010 has came under fire after its chairman Guido Barilla, gave an interview to La Zanzara Radio24, in which he offended many LGBT customers.

    He was answering a question regarding the lack of gay families in the company’s advertising. He suggested that gay couples would never be used saying,

    ‘”Our family is a traditional family,’ he added that he,

    “wouldn’t do an ad with a homosexual family not because I disrespect gays – they have their right to do whatever they want without disturbing others – but because I don’t think like them and I think that the family we try to address is anyway a classic family.”

    Barilla then went on to suggest that if gay people didn’t like the company’s values, they could ‘eat another brand’.

    Since the fallout, Barillo committed to creating an advisory board on diversity and said that advertising campaign would be more inclusive.

     

    Chick-Fil-A Palin in a bun

    Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy doesn’t like same-sex marriage and was basically jumped by Sarah Palin in her approval of his message. Cathy tweeted that the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a key part of the Defence of Marriage Act is a “sad day for our nation,”then promptly deleted it. In 2012 Sarah Palin went on Twitter to support the chain that many from the LGBT community have boycotted.

     

    Thistles No Double Beds for Gays

    In Feb 2013 a gay couple claimed that a receptionist at Thistles hotel in Barbican denied them a pre-booked double room. The reception is alleged to repeatedly ask whether the couple wanted single beds. Nick Hurley and his partner tweeted their disgust saying that the receptionist was homophobic.

    Thistle Hotels quickly responded by apologising and stating that they had a zero tolerance policy on discrimination, but not before Nick Hurley’s tweet was retweeted 2642 times

  • Pizza4Equality Raises $155,000

    With over 4115 individual donations and a massive 62,000 social shares, Pizza4Equality, a campaign with aims to raise money for homeless LGBT youth has raised an incredible $155,000.

    The campaign was started initially as a counter to a fundraiser for a pizza parlour, Memories Pizza,  in Indiana that said it would discriminate against a gay couple. After national press exposure, the owners went on to receive in excess of $800,000 in donations to keep their business afloat.

    All proceeds of the Pizza4Equality fund will go to Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Foundation, an organisation dedicated to helping LGBT Youth on the streets.

    A user on the crowd funding site, Christa Sheehan, wrote:

    I see this campaign’s a flop! So much for outshowing Memories Pizza! LOL #praiseHim”

    However the fund’s creator, Scott Wooledge countered,

    “But we’ve raise $155,000 to help LGBTQ homeless youth! So how can that be a ‘flop?’ We at #Pizza4Equality are super-proud and you should be too! Thank you!”

    The fund is collecting until the 29th April, the first national #40ToNoneDay – a day set up by the True Colors foundation to end LGBT youth homelessness.

  • UPDATE: #Pizza4Equality Reaches $55,000

    The campaign to raise $800,000 for homeless LGBT youth in the US has hit a stunning $50,000 after just two days.

    The campaign called Pizza4Equality, which is supporting Cyndi Lauper‘s True Colors Foundation, has an aim to match the $800,000 (£550,000) raised for Memories Pizza, a business in Indiana which attracted world-wide exposure after the owners admitted that they would refuse service to LGBT couples, based on their belief system. Over 29,000 people supported the money raised through GoFundMe.

    The campaign has now been backed by 1486 people, raising over $55,000, with seven donors paying $500 each.

    Mr Wooledge said,

    “There is much disgust and consternation in the LGBT community over a viral fundraiser effort, that has as of this writing, earned $842,387. Many have lamented, ‘if only our cause could raise that much money that fast’

    “I say, yes, we can.

    “So I looked and saw that Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Fund has set April 29 as the first national #40toNoneDay to end #LGBT youth homelessness! And I thought, would it not be totally awesome if we equality supporters (and pizza lovers) could match that #MemoriesPizza “charity” by April 29? Can we match their amount and help homeless youth get off the street, learn life skills and get an education and jobs?

    “I’m an dreamer, but I say yes, we can!”

  • Pizza For Equality Campaign Raises $16,000 in 24 Hours

    A campaign to raise money for homeless LGBT youth in the US has earned $16,000 in just 24 hours in a marked contrast to a campaign set up to boost the failings of a family owned pizzeria which would refuse services to gay couples.

    Pizza4Equality

    The campaign called Pizza4Equality has an aim to match the $800,000 (£550,000) raised for Memories Pizza, a business in Indiana which attracted world-wide exposure after the owners admitted that they would refuse service to LGBT couples, based on their belief system. Over 29,000 people supported the money raised through GoFundMe.

    Pizza4Equality, which was organised by Scott Wooledge aims to raise the same amount for the Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Fund, whose focus is to end LGBT homelessness. The fund has already been backed by 449 donations and raised $16,520 (£11,072) so far.

    Mr Wooledge said,
    “There is much disgust and consternation in the LGBT community over a viral fundraiser effort, that has as of this writing, earned $842,387. Many have lamented, ‘f only our cause could raise that much money that fast’

    “I say, yes, we can.

    “So I looked and saw that Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Fund has set April 29 as the first national #40toNoneDay to end #LGBT youth homelessness! And I thought, would it not be totally awesome if we equality supporters (and pizza lovers) could match that #MemoriesPizza “charity” by April 29? Can we match their amount and help homeless youth get off the street, learn life skills and get an education and jobs?

    “I’m an dreamer, but I say yes, we can!”

    Visit the funding page here

     

  • Anti-gay Marriage Pizza Shop Makes $800,000 in Donations

    The pizzeria that publicly admitted that it would refuse services to gay and lesbian couples because of the owners’ religious beliefs has managed to raise over $800,000 in donations on a crowdfunding site.

    Both Crystal and Kevin O‘Connor stated their discomfort with gay and lesbian couples and that they would refuse to serve at a same-sex wedding, with Mr O’Connor even going as far as to describe homosexuality as a “choice”, and questioning why he should be “beat over the head to go along with something they choose?”.

    The family allegedly went into hiding due to ‘abuses’ levied at the business, which included leaving ‘gay reviews’ on Yelp and other review sites. However, according to Blaze.TV the family have made a stunning ‘comeback’ after receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from well-wishers across the country.

    Lawrence Billy Jones III one of the Television Opinion Contributors at BlazeTV set up a crowdfunding, on GoFundme, “To relieve the financial loss endured by the proprietors’ stand for faith.”

    The funder that has now been closed received over 29,000 donations totalling $842,637 (£564,770) to the owners of Memories Pizza. Donations began to pour in after a segment on an emotionally led interview on BlazeTV’s Dana Loesch’s show, in which the gun loving, conservative commentator called the O’Connor’s story a “culture war” – and “when you stand for faith, you don’t stand alone.”

    According to the organisers of the funding page “The final act on our end is to give contact info of the O’Connor family to GoFundMe. No need for concern as GoFundMe will only release to this family and this family alone. After this, it is all between the family and GoFundMe.”

    GoFundme, the crowdfunding site that hosted the campaign initially failed to tackle any of the homophobic comments made by pledgers.

    Brett Jeffreyes who donated $250 said,

    “Sadly this is the first wave. We are seeing the rise of GAY SHARIA. They will go to any length to destroy people of conscience and good will. I expect to see Gay Sharia violence supported by both Social and mainstream Media in my lifetime.”

    And Brennan Doherty who donated $10 said,

    “God bless them for not agreeing to support the farce of gay marriage.”

    Comments have now been removed and all donations are registered as “anonymous”.

    First-term Republican Governor Mike Pence has now signed a ‘fix’ to the law so that it does not discriminate against the LGBT community. He has insisted, however, that the law wasn’t the problem, but how it was being perceived. The law now has protections based on sexual orientation for the first time in its history.

  • Gay Refusal Pizza Parlour Makes $50,000 In GoFund Me Page

    The Memories Pizza restaurant that made headlines after becoming one of the first businesses in Indiana to say they would actively discriminate against gay couples has earned nearly $50,000 in support on the GoFundMe crowdfunder site.

    The crowdfunder, which was set up by Lawrence Billy Jones III, “To relieve the financial loss endured by the proprietors’ stand for faith.” has received over 1300 donations to the owners of Memories Pizza. The owners have said that they have gone into hiding since they said they would refuse to send pizzas to a gay wedding.

    Kevin O’Connor, co-owner of the restaurant, who supports Indiana’s Religious Freedoms law said, “That lifestyle is something they choose. I choose to be heterosexual. They choose to be homosexual. Why should I be beat over the head to go along with something they choose?”

    Funders have donated as little as $5, but one anonymous donor made a $5,000 pledge. Many of the pledgers have used the comment space to make outrageous homophobic statements.

    Brett Jeffreyes who donated $250 said, “Sadly this is the first wave. We are seeing the rise of GAY SHARIA. They will go to any length to destroy people of conscience and good will. I expect to see Gay Sharia violence supported by both Social and mainstream Media in my lifetime.”

    Whilst one gay supporter of the pizzeria, known only as BG said, “Not all gays are part of this pathetic, progressive, oppressive maffia [sic]. I am gay and I support your religious beliefs. I hope your business survives and thrives.”

    Brennan Doherty who donated $10 said, “God bless them for not agreeing to support the farce of gay marriage.”

    The original target for the funding page was $45,000.

    Republican Governor Mike Pence has said that he wants to ‘fix’ the law so that it does not discriminate against the LGBT community. He has insisted however, that the law isn’t the problem, but how it is being perceived is.

  • US Pizza Parlour Will Refuse Gay Wedding Orders

    The controversial Religious Freedom law in Indiana has already started to show how the business community can and will discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people, by refusing to serve them.

    One Pizzeria has gone the extra mile in its bigotry by announcing it will NEVER deliver pizza to a gay wedding.

    The family who owns the Memories Pizzeria in Walkerton, Indiana told WBND that they would never serve gay people because of their Christian beliefs.

    If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide them pizzas for a wedding, we would have to say no”. Crystal O’Connor told the News crew.

    ‘That’s a lifestyle that you choose,’ said her father Kevin O’Connor,

    ‘I choose to be heterosexual. They choose to be homosexual. Why should I be beat over the head because they choose that lifestyle?’ he continued.

    First term Republican Governor Mike Pence has said that he wants to ‘fix’ the law so that it does not discriminate against the LGBT community. He has insisted however, that the law isn’t the problem, but how it is being perceived is.