Henson Company breaks off relationship with Chick-Fil-A over gay marriage stance
The Jim Henson Company has announced via it’s Facebook page that it no longer wishes to partner with Chick-Fil-A because Henson’s company supports gay marriage.
“… on Friday, the Jim Henson Company posted the following statement to 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. (http://www.glaad.org/)”
“With this, The Jim Henson Company joins the ranks of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who has vowed to block Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant in the city, office star Ed Helms who tweeted that the chain had “lost a loyal fan,” and the countless individuals who have taken to social media to voice disapproval, including those planning a National Same Sex Kiss Day on August 3, in condemning the Chick-Fil-A’s CEO’s opposition to same sex marriage. “
A fan site reports that Chick-Fil-A kids meals were featuring a Jim Henson Creature Shop make-your-own puppet toy from mid July to Aug. 18th.
How do you feel about Chick-Fil-A’s stance on gay marriage? Does it influence your decision to buy your food there either way? If you are offended, it is hard to give it up? (That is some yummy chicken.) Do you think the owners should stop talking about their views?
(I know this is a polarizing issue but please try to stay polite and discuss it like adults. No name calling please.)
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1,331 comments Add your comment
Richard Simmons
July 24th, 2012
11:09 am
As usual, conservatives get their panties all twisted in a knot when someone dares question their ignorance. Henson, and gay people, are not burning down CFA nor attempting to deny CFA their rights to believe and say whatever idiocy they desire. What is being said is that Henson and many gay people will no longer do business with CFA because of their beliefs. You spout off that CFA has the right to their beliefs, but obviously you don’t think Henson or gay people also have the right to their own beliefs, too? Why is only CFA’s belief sacrosanct?
As a gay man, I have refused to purchase anything from CFA because my self-respect and dignity is worth more to me than a soggy chicken sandwich. And as evidenced by the wide load signs needed on some of your butts, you’d do well to avoid them, too.
Sophia
July 24th, 2012
11:09 am
I support Chick-Fil-A! I’m going to eat lunch there today! Love the muppets2, but I’m going to enjoy my Chick-Fil-A salad and tea! mmmm mmmm good delicious! I support the Cathy family! I support the Cathy beliefs! I support Chick-Fil-A!
pj
July 24th, 2012
11:09 am
@ Taylor Wooten, no but you might see any of this extensive list of animals exhibiting homosexual behaviors (reminder: humans are animals)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animals_displaying_homosexual_behavior
Harmon
July 24th, 2012
11:09 am
Finally an organization stands up for their beliefs and does not bow down for the almighty dollar. Since reading this story I will eat more at chick-fil-A and will never again buy a muppet for my kids or grandkids. Bravo again chick-fil-a.
Kathryn
July 24th, 2012
11:10 am
Makes me want to eat more chicken!!
BlondeHoney
July 24th, 2012
11:10 am
And a big welcome to those who usually hang out on Jay’s blog (Kamchek, Paul, etc); welcome to Momania :) Can we get a few more of you over here while Jay’s out on vacation? Please?
Erik
July 24th, 2012
11:10 am
Yet another example of religion’s poison. Yawn.
GAtor
July 24th, 2012
11:11 am
Amen Tampa Gator…
once again
July 24th, 2012
11:11 am
I do not believe in gay marriage. but that doesn’t mean I will condemn the Muppets. The Muppets are for entertainment – Chik-fila is for food. As long as the muppets invite everyone in – just as Chik-fila does – what does it matter. Therein lies the hypocrcy of the left and the liberals.
Butter Pecan
July 24th, 2012
11:11 am
Who cares-EAT MORE CHICKEN!
JB
July 24th, 2012
11:11 am
great post Samantha
Scott
July 24th, 2012
11:11 am
If I hear the term “equal rights” one more time in regards to gay marriage then I think that I will scream. The current marriage laws in Georgia are indeed equal. A man can’t marry another man whether he is gay or normal, and a gay man has the right to marry a woman just like a straight man can. There is nobody saying “Hey, you can’t marry because you are gay!”…. they are just saying that you can’t marry the same sex.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
July 24th, 2012
11:11 am
Boogerman refugees must be in withdrawl to slum in momania..
Love Chick Fil A
July 24th, 2012
11:11 am
Also… I WAS going to travel to Boston later this year. Trip cancelled. I don’t need to be spending my money in a town that harbors a close-minded mayor.
Dr. Reginald Wells
July 24th, 2012
11:11 am
This will be difficult to explain to those who do not believe in God but according to the Bible sin brings punishment. We as Christians know that every person has a right to choose what they will believe in and do but what is the biggest problem here is that people do not see any form of punishment from these acts. Perfect example-if you tell your child to not touch the stove it is an expectation because you know the ramifications from touching the hot stove. The child does not and doesn’t understand what the problem is until they touch the stove. It is the same with sin period and that is not just with homosexuality but lying, divorce, any sex outside of marriage, murder, and other things God stated not to do. It was the agenda to remove the 10 commandments from the public, remove prayer from school, and to criminalize certain Christian acts (people have been arrested and kicked out of public places for praying for others when the people asked as an example) so that now moral relativism steps in-”do as thou wilt as along as no one gets hurt.” The problem is that punishment comes to a nation when sin is allowed to take precedent over God’s law. Oh and the “well what about the shellfish law, the stoning your children when they are disobedient law, divorcing you wife law”……..Acts 15 explains why those specific laws have now served their purpose but laws dealing with sexual immorality, murder, lying (the 10 commandments) still stands. This nation is in trouble (Romans 1:23 onward)
Get It RIght
July 24th, 2012
11:12 am
Read as much of the message from Dan Cathy as you can find and you’ll see that he never said anything “anti-gay”. He only stated his view, and the view that CFA will support, that they believe marriage is betweena man and a woman. It is unfortunate that some of us are not allowed to suppor the things we believe in, such as traditional marriage, family values, etc. , without being labelled as “anti-gay” or “homophobic”. I’m neither against gay folk nor am I afraid of them. Live yor life and let me live mine. The word “tolerance” comes to mind…
Just Me
July 24th, 2012
11:12 am
They support-with huge amounts of money-organizations whose sole objective is to deny civil rights to others.
I wouldn’t spend another dime there if my life depended upon it.
Homophobic, hateful “christians.” Lower case “c.”
sane one
July 24th, 2012
11:12 am
The south is sure doing a good job of embarrassing itself. This is 2012. It’s time to evolve and stop hating in the name of religion.
Omg
July 24th, 2012
11:12 am
“Sexual orientation is not a choice”
That is a lie of course it is a choice.
GaDawg
July 24th, 2012
11:12 am
I applaude Chic-Fil-A and the Cathey family. BUT as usual, Christians don’t have the right to disagree with the liberal agendas of pro gya groups or any other liberal agenda. Liberals say they are the group who accept everyone UNLESS you are a group who has different views than they do. Always one sided!
In any case the company has operated under Christian principles from their very beginning and have the right to do so. If you don’t like them, don’t go there because I assure you they will not suffer any REAL loss of business from those who try to push their agendas down the throats of those who disagree.
Some guy
July 24th, 2012
11:12 am
Chick-fil-A is the only fast food I will eat not. I will make it a point to go there at least twice per week. The mayor of Bean Town is an idiot. The Islamic faith is staunchly opposed to homosexuality. Will he act to prevent additional Mosques from opening in Boston? Oops, too PC for that one. Will he run the Boy Scouts out of town? Idiot.
Omg
July 24th, 2012
11:13 am
Just Me
What civil rights? Please eloborate.
JB
July 24th, 2012
11:13 am
Richard Simmons…………Are it’s your right…..As Mr Cathy has a right. We will miss you.
Sara
July 24th, 2012
11:14 am
Hypothetical question: If this was the 1950’s, and if Chick-fil-A was ALL FOR the segregation of the races, would those of you who don’t believe in equality for all applaud them for standing up for their beliefs? Beliefs or not..denying someone their pursuit of happiness is unconstitutional, unethical, and UN-AMERICAN. I’ll take the Muppets…you guys can have Mike Huckabee. I really hope someday you’ll all find that rainbow connection.
non-religious opinion
July 24th, 2012
11:14 am
Okay folks…here goes. Firstly, let me say I have been married, divorced, had bisexual flings at a younger age, and am a God-fearing, non-churchgoing black female in my 40’s living in Atlanta metro. I am a lot of things, as most people are. I have a right to my opinion and so does Chik-Fil-A. Apparently, most of the states in our nation hold this same opinion and have made it LAW. So why aren’t these folks boycotting their entire country? Gay marriage is really NOT an issue because it doesn’t actually exist most places. Gay people need to stop whining so much! Please GET OVER the need to be accepted by people (or an entire nation). They just want everyone to stamp ‘NORMAL’ on their forehead so that they can pretend that people aren’t still thinking what their thinking.
GAY is not the norm, although it is a normal lifestyle for some people. I am not the norm either – single, divorced, raising children alone, eccentric as hell, etc., etc. I don’t have to scream to the rooftops for someone to accept me, I ACCEPT ME!!
Realize that no one will respect your opinions when you won’t even let theirs be heard. Also, legislation cannot change the heart of a man or woman. Allow for the natural progression of things in that arena and some people may come to a better understanding. NO ONE wants to be force fed!
Lastly, Gay folks, PLEASE speak to some of your brethren and sistren…they give you a bad name with the way they carry themselves…We have this problem in the Black community as well. But, at least you all aren’t fighting against CONSTANT misrepresentation in the media. There are plenty of respectable, well-spoken, logical GAY people in the media, BUT what about those living in our neighborhoods acting in ways a LOT of folks don’t agree with? Work on them and maybe you’ll change some opinions. BUT, as long as your flaming friends walk the streets offending people’s sensibilities, your group is likely to garner bad reviews.
I should know…I see it on the streets, on TV, everywhere they’ve (ignorant Black folks) got black folks looking like buffoons….IT IS NOT TRUE!! And your sistren and brethren have the GAY population painted the same way. PEOPLE BELIEVE WHAT THEY SEE and what we see here in Atlanta is not pretty.
Take heart, at least they take great pains to make you all appear MAINSTREAM in mass media. Black people would have to fight the battle on both fields. Good thing we got over whining in public about it (well, at least most of us).
One more thing, please know that GAY RIGHTS does not = ACCEPTANCE. Nor is it a violation of anyone’s civil rights to say you don’t like their views or lifestyle. Chik-Fil-A has not decided to ban GAY folks from the restaurants. I actually applaud Mr. Cathy for being an American who exercises his civil liberties…EVER HEARD OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH?!!
JayBee
July 24th, 2012
11:14 am
I applaud Chik-fil-A for standing firm on this “controversial” issue. As a private business, they can state their opinion! It is not about hatred or exclusion or anyone’s rights–it is about what the Cathy family believes and is a part of their faith. I have never heard the folks at Chik-fil-A state they refuse to serve an LGBT person? Not at all. This is NOT a “civil rights” issue, folks, and for those of you who believe it is…do your research. Dr. King would NOT be marching in the streets for the “civil rights” of those who choose to live in sinful relationships.
Fred C. Donovan
July 24th, 2012
11:14 am
I was in the same Harvard Business School class with Dan Cathy in the late 80’s……he was then, as he is now, a very straight forward and honest person and we all admired his ability to think things through and arrive at long term solutions in lieu of immediate benefits…..his case study analyses were based on strong principles and consistenty correct….his personal ethics prevailed over “short term” results…….
All I can say is that to be “politically correct” is very seldom “correct”…..this is the very reason we our nation is in the “polotical” mess we are in…….we need more Dan Cathys as our leaders and fewer Jim Hensons……
Omg
July 24th, 2012
11:14 am
sane one
Prove your theory because it is not fact.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
July 24th, 2012
11:14 am
@sane one, what part of the south is California, Iowa, and Michigan in? you have a funky map. The residents of those states all passed constitutional ammendments to bar gay marriage.
once again
July 24th, 2012
11:14 am
Remember this – the South will protect its own .
Adam
July 24th, 2012
11:15 am
Kerri-You probably need to be mum on this subject because you are sounding like an idiot. I have three gay siblings. I love them very much. But I appreciate Chick-fi-la’s stance. By the way, you are best advertisement they have had in years. Forget the cows, you are the best press they have gotten in a while. I am very happily married and tend to think that a unionis is between a Man and a Woman.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
July 24th, 2012
11:15 am
How about a man and a dog?
Ah yes, the zoophilia card. :roll:
This is known as a false equivalence. A marriage is a legal contract and animals cannot enter in a legal contract.
Smarter trolls please.
Jay
July 24th, 2012
11:15 am
Chickfila has always been my first choice to visit. Their stand is a great reminder of why!!! If only we all had the backbone, faith, and values of the Cathy Family.
Tampa Gator
July 24th, 2012
11:15 am
Question: Did Cathy make this statement as a representative of Chick Fil A…..or did he make it from a personal point of view. Just curious. It really doesn’t matter either way. Since Chick Fil A is a private company….and Cathy lives in America. Until CFA becomes a public owned enterprise….the company and its execs are free to say anything they want in public without responsiblity other than unto themselves and their families. Period. Also….each individual has the right to eat at or not ear at CFA. I have a feeling that their business will stay what it is…..a good place to have a quality chicken sandwich.
sam
July 24th, 2012
11:15 am
Typical attitude of the world – “We have the right to say and be who we are (gay rights) and you can do the same – as long as you agree with us. If not, we’ll wage war against you.” Hey, if you gay and want to get married, fine. But if Cathy’s opinion is different, why can’t you (gay marriage supporters) just say fine. The world always points to the church and claim a double standard (and there has been at times), but perhaps the world needs to examine it’s own standards. Cathy made it in this world through faith (and part of that was not opening on Sundays) – do you really think Boston or the Henson Company is gonna make a difference. Get over yourselves!
TrishaDishaWarEagle
July 24th, 2012
11:16 am
@sara..when I want to taste the rainbow, I reach for skittles, not a dental dam.
Don Scott, Jr.
July 24th, 2012
11:17 am
I think I will patronize Chic-fil-A more frequently from now on!
Chick-Fil-A Forever
July 24th, 2012
11:18 am
To Tampa Gator: “Sure sounds like hate to me. But…if not….is sure is intolerance of others….which breeds more intolerance and then lots of hate of others different than myself or ourselves….and even worse (see circa 1940s)…….some would like to take us back to those second dark ages.” The truth is what it is. It has nothing to do with hate or intolerance. Marriage was ordained by God for the purpose of creating and raising a family in a two parent (male and female) household. That should be obvious to anyone with any knowledge of history or biology. If you believe the earth is round (based on facts = truth), does that automatically mean that you hate those who belong to the flat earth society? Does that automatically make you intolerant???? Accoring to your own logic, if you think you are right and I am wrong, that means that you automatically hate me and are intolerant of me. You can’t have it both ways. Think man…THINK!!!
Sooo Typical
July 24th, 2012
11:19 am
I love how conservatives applaud Chick-Fil-A for standing by their beliefs then bash the Henson Company for standing by their beliefs.
Rob
July 24th, 2012
11:19 am
Works both ways….We’ll cease watching Muppets movies and buying their products as well because they don’t line up with our beliefs.
Out There
July 24th, 2012
11:19 am
I want to walk down the street naked, wearing only a purple silk bow tied around my genitals. But I can’t do it because of all you hate-mongering genitalphobes. I’m not going to eat anywhere, because every food manufacturer in the world is intolerant of my lifestyle. I’m starving to death.
Illegal Immigrant
July 24th, 2012
11:19 am
Oblama is right. If you are uniformed this is a very good description of what Christianity really is. It is NOT a religion. Jesus (God) loves us all no matter who we are or where we come from. If you want God in your life you must invite Him in. Just ask Him to be part of your life and He will make you a better and happier person.
Lynda
July 24th, 2012
11:19 am
I commend Chick-fil-A on its stance! There are many that feel the same way. So if the Muppet Show wants to cut ties with them, so be it! It will not stop me from buying their food.
Mitch (the one in Rome)
July 24th, 2012
11:19 am
It’s ok to be free as long as you don’t break any accepted societal taboos, then you are not free to say so, or others will seek to have you shut up. That is not free. That is old Soviet Union. At least CFA didn’t break any real laws. Really, Henson is just showing their ignorance and folly. Oh well. Their loss.
Chick-Fil-A Forever
July 24th, 2012
11:20 am
To Tampa Gator: Use your head! Think!
kendall
July 24th, 2012
11:20 am
This is really getting old. When i was a child and thought about marriage, i thought of one man and one woman. Even as young as i was, i can remember knowing that two men and two women being together in that way was wrong. And no one had to teach me that. I wish people would stop trying to change the way the majority of us think, and just drop it. Feel free to do what you want, just don’t try to force feed me your sins………i got my own to deal with!!
Teresa
July 24th, 2012
11:20 am
Stand by your values Chick-Fil-A. Just because the entire world agrees with gay marriage does not make it right. I am proud of the stern position the company is taking. Glad your not bending over and taking it like the rest of these morally corrupt companies
Torpedo
July 24th, 2012
11:21 am
My guess is those raising cain about this will now begin to research all restaurants they visit to see if they are pro-gay marriage or not before eating there.
Gregg
July 24th, 2012
11:21 am
I am not homosexual but can’t understand why someone’s personal preference has to do with selling chicken. Keep your bigoted attitudes to yourself. This attitude is one of the reasons i could never call myself a Christian. If this is Christian behavior then its clearly not for me. I preferred Chick-fil-A over other fast food choices and a Peach Bowl fan. Unfortunately, I can not look myself in the mirror if I were to give them another dime. We are going to petition to have them removed from our elementary school – Chick-Fil-A Friday’s too
Whatever
July 24th, 2012
11:21 am
HUGE fan of Chik-fil-A! Great to see they stand up for what they believe in. Now days you are an cast down if you stand up for what you believe in. Gay people say and do whatever they want. You know, the protected people who live in sin.