A Whole Foods in Austin is being sued by a pastor who claims he ordered a cake from them with the personalized message “Love Wins,” but instead recieved a cake with the phrase followed by a gay slur.
Pastor Jordan Brown, an openly gay man, immediately complained to the South Lamar Boulevard location where the cake was ordered. Kaplan Law Firm PLLC alleges that Whole Foods staffers reportedly claimed to investigate the incident and found that none of its employees had done anything wrong.
According to Austin Kaplan, Brown’s lawyer, the firm reached out to the corporate offices of the chain on April 15, but didn’t get any kind of response. According to KVUE ABC, that’s when the lawsuit was filed.
In a statement, Brown’s lawyer Austin Kaplan said of his client:
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He frequently shopped at Whole Foods, which makes this all the more shocking and disappointing. What really concerns him is knowing that unless some action is taken, this kind of thing could happen again, and that someone else might have to go through a similarly excruciating experience.”
KVUE reached out to Whole Foods regarding the incident and received the following response:
The team member wrote “Love Wins” at the top of the cake as requested by the guest and that’s exactly how the cake was packaged and sold at the store. Our team members do not accept or design bakery orders that include language or images that are offensive. Whole Foods Market has a zero tolerance policy for discrimination.”