Whole Foods and a Texas pastor are in a legal battle over one very offensive cake.
Whole Foods Market announced on Wednesday morning that it plans to file a suit against Jordan Brown, an openly gay Texas man who has publicly accused the grocery chain of writing a homophobic slur on a cake he purchased from the Whole Foods bakery department, according to NBC News.
On Thursday afternoon, Brown, pastor at the Church of Open Doors in Austin, TX, purchased a cake that he alleged was defaced with a homophobic slur. Brown said in a video that he spoke to a store employee who offered an apology at first, but then called him back later in the day to say that no one from the store had written the offensive word and there was nothing the company could do. Brown and his lawyer filed a lawsuit against Whole Foods on Monday, alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress.
On Wednesday, Whole Foods released a statement countering Brown’s claims and declaring an intent to take legal action.
“After a deeper investigation of Mr. Brown’s claim, we believe his accusations are fraudulent,” the release began. The statement points out that though the top of the cake and any writing would be clearly visible through the packaging, Brown claims not to have seen the slur until he left the store. The store also alleges that the scanning label was moved from where it appears to be in a surveillance video of the purchase. Whole Foods said that it stands behind the bakery employee, who is also a member of the LGBTQ community.
An email request sent to Jordan Brown and the Church of Open Doors for comment was not immediately returned.
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