'I don't know how you live with yourself': CFO fired after verbally abusing young Chick-fil-A employee as gay rights protestors stage 'Same Sex Kiss Day' at restaurants
- Thousands expected to flock to restaurant at Same Sex Kiss Day Bomb threat called into one Chick-fil-A Other branches being vandalized and staff verbally abused Nearly 700,000 people responded to 'Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day' on Wednesday as cars clogged drive-thru lanes across the nation Detroit Lions linebacker said he won't boycott even if they supported slavery because it 'tastes too good' Mayor Bloomberg supports free speech right of CEO Dan Cathy
By MICHAEL ZENNIE and RACHEL QUIGLEY
|
A Chick-fil-A protestor went to extreme lengths to show his disdain for the chain's anti-gay marriage stance - and ended up losing his job over it.
Adam Smith, the former CFO of an Arizona-based medical device manufacturer, decided to take matters into his own hands by targeting an employee at a drive-thru window, videoing it and uploading it on to YouTube.
In the video, which has already been viewed more then 150,000 times, Smith - who claims he is straight - explains what he is about to do as he waits in line for his free water.
His firing was reported on the same day as the counter-protest against Chick-fil-A's Appreciation Day as thousands of gay couples plan on flocking to restaurants to kiss.
Scroll down for video
You're fired: In a video posted to YouTube, Adam Smith goes to the Chick-Fil-A drive-through, orders water and proceeds to bully the young female employee who serves him
Polite: The Chick-fil-A employee tells Smith it's her pleasure to serve him and to have a nice day despite his verbal abuse
When he gets to the window, he starts to all-out bully the young female employee behind the counter, who remains calm and polite throughout the whole exchange.
He said: 'I don’t know how you live with yourself and work here. I don’t understand it. This is a horrible corporation with horrible values.'
The girl tells him repeatedly to have a nice day and that it is a pleasure to serve him as well as saying: 'I'm staying neutral on this subject. My personal beliefs don't belong in the workplace.'
As he drives off he tells the worker: 'I'm a nice guy by the way, and I'm totally heterosexual. Just can't stand the hate. It's gotta stop guys, stand up.'
After the video went viral, according to a MarketWire statement, Smith was fired from his job at Vante, Inc.
They released a statement saying: 'The actions of Mr Smith do not reflect our corporate values in any manner. Vante is an equal opportunity company with a diverse workforce, which holds diverse opinions.
Girl on girl: Hundreds of same sex couples have already flocked to Chick-fil-A to kiss in protest
Backlash: Anti Chick-fil-A protestors hold signs outside a Hollywood branch after thousands of Americans turned out on Wednesday to show their appreciation for the chain
Banners: A gay couple stand outside Chick-fil-A to support their right to love each other just as much as a heterosexual couple would
Graffiti: Vandals at a Chick-fil-A in Torrance left a message on the restaurant on Friday during a week of protests in response to the company president's comments regarding same-sex marriage
YETA (Youth Empowered to Act): A group of LGBT youth leaders between the ages of 14 and 24, protested the opening of a new Chick-fil-a franchise in Laguna Hills, California
Hate: The protestors came out in force today for the Same Sex Kiss Day at Chick-fil-A's across the nation
Playing with words: Thus Chick-fil-A protestor uses her smartphone to tell the world exactly what she thinks of the fast food chain
'We respect the right of our employees and all Americans to hold and express their personal opinions, however, we also expect our company officers to behave in a manner commensurate with their position and in a respectful fashion that conveys these values of civility with others.'
Today, protestors are staging a backlash in response to the hundreds of thousands of supporters who flocked to branches across the nation on Wednesday - setting record sales on what was dubbed Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.
A Facebook page set up to organize the event, National Same Sex Kissing Day, called on participants to visit their local Chick-fil-A's at 8pm – and make out.
The movement motto, 'Kiss More Chiks', plays on the restaurant's most famous ad slogan: 'Eat Mor Chiken'.
Kiss-in organizer Carly McGehee said in an interview with GLAAD: 'We need to show not just the Chick-fil-A company, but the rest of the country, that our numbers are great.
'By participating in the kiss-in, thousands of people will get out of the house and show their support for LGBT equality. This is what will make the biggest impact.'
Kissathon: More couples show support with their lips
Forever love: Same sex couple Shellie Crandall and Pam Buchmeyer kiss outside a Chick-fil-A restaurant on August 3, 2012 in Dallas, Texas
Message: Gay couple Jim Fortier, left, and Mark Toomajian kiss each other during a gay and lesbian kiss in protest outside a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Decatur, Georgia
A painting crew finishes painting over the vandalized wall that vandals had scrawled Tastes Like Hate on at a Chik-fil-A restaurant in Torrance, California, right, as the Same Sex Kiss Days kicks off early
Cute couple: Hundreds of kissing photos have appeared on Instagram as the Same Sex Kiss Day kicks off
Despite the 8pm start time, hundreds of protestors started out early and began to tweet pictures of them holding banners, rainbow flags and simply just kissing their same-sex partner. Up to 15,000 are expected to rally around at tonight's kiss off.
A number of other branches reported criminal activity by those not in support of CEO Dan Cathy's belief in the 'biblical definition of marriage'.
Fox News reported that a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Martinsburg, West Virginia, was evacuated after someone called in a bomb threat which was later deemed to be a hoax.
In South Carolina, a man was arrested after he blocked the drive-thru with his vehicle and vandals at a Chick-Fil-A in Torrance painted a message on the side of the restaurant today saying 'Tastes Like Hate' with a picture of a cow.
'SH*T IS AMAZING...TASTES TOO GOOD' - NFL STAR SUPPORTS CHAIN
Detroit Lions linebacker Justin Durant used Twitter to weigh in on the Chick-fil-A gay marriage saga.
He said he was 'shaking his head' over the controversy and asked his followers: 'Chick-fil-A not even open on Sunday how people shocked that the owner feels that way?'
He added: 'So people not gon [sic] get the best chicken sammich [sic] and lemonade on the planet because of a personal belief? Word?'
When someone asked whether he would boycott the restaurant if they came out in support of slavery. He said the chicken is 'too tasty.'
The Muppets also pulled their support from the company, triggering a toy recall, and Boston Mayor Tom Menino vowed to block the chicken sandwich maker from setting up shop in his city.
Detroit Lions linebacker Justin Durant caused controversy by weighing into the row on Twitter.
He asked his followers what was happening with his favorite fast food chain. When he was filled in on the scandal he said he was 'shaking his head' over it and asked: 'Chick-Fil-A not even open on Sunday how people shocked that the owner feels that way [sic]'.
When asked if he would boycott it if they supported slavery he responded: 'Chicken too tasty.'
Mayor Bloomberg has also weighed into the debate and voiced his support of the restaurant chain and the CEO's freedom of speech.
On his weekly WOP radio show, he said: 'It isn't the right thing to do and it isn't what America stands for. And those people who don't like (Chick-fil-A) don't understand their rights were protected by people who took a difficult position in the past and stood by it.
'They stood up so everybody else would be free.'
The mayor, a staunch advocate of marriage equality, continued: 'I don't agree with this guy. I don't agree with the position of the Catholic Church.
'That doesn't mean I don't have an enormous amount of respect for the two Cardinals we have here and the clergy and the people who are Catholic.
'What's for sure is that government cannot in the United States, in America, under the Constitution, be run where you have a litmus test for the personal views of somebody when they want something in the commercial world.'
Let the kissing commence: Gay couples flock to their nearest Chick-fil-A
In your face: Gay rights groups are hoping to combat Wednesday's Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day with a same-sex kissing protest at stores across the country
Supporters: This scene, people standing in long lines to patronize a Chick-fil-A in Fresno, California, was played out at the chain's restaurants across the nation
Waiting: The drive-through lane in Huntsville, Alabama, circles the parking lot twice hundreds of people waited for their turn at a chicken sandwhich
Huckabee's Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day was a wildly successful national movement -- with nearly 700,000 people pledging to attend on Facebook.
Photos emerged from across the nation -- from Texas to Colorado to California and Chicago -- of patrons waiting for hours to support the company.
'It's gone beyond anything I could have imagined,' Huckabee, a former Republican presidential candidate, told Fox News.
'Every one of (the stores) that I know have reported record, historic sales yesterday... A lot of the stores ran out of chicken before the end of the day.'
Chick-fil-A says it had nothing to do with planning the rally that brought customers to its stores in droves, but it appreciated the business.
POLL RESULTS
Should Chick-fil-A be free to voice their support for the biblical definition of marriage?
- Yes89%
- No11%
'We are very grateful and humbled by the incredible turnout of loyal Chick-fil-A customers on August 1 at Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country,' the company said in a statement.
It added: 'While we don't release exact sales numbers, we can confirm reports that it was a record-setting day.'
Organizers don't recommend eating at Chick-fil-A and are encouraging their supporters to visit Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Despite their efforts, the protest is unlikely to come close to matching the impact of Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day -- only 11,000 Facebook users have said they plan to attend 'National Same Sex Kiss Day.'
Not all gay people support the boycott, though. A 20-year-old gay man, who said he is a liberal who supports President Barack Obama, wrote a piece for CNN iReport in which he defended Cathy's right to oppose gay marriage.
Mockery: The Facebook group for the National Same Sex Kissing Day plays off the Chick-fil-A slogan 'eat mor chikin' with the motto 'kiss mor chicks'
Show of faith: A pair of nuns were photographed walking out of a Chick-fil-A on Wednesday loaded with food, milkshakes and iced tea
The man said he planned to continue eating at Chick-fil-A because he thinks the reaction of gay rights groups has been overblown -- and their southern-style chicken sandwiches taste good, too.
As opponents regroup, Chick-fil-A is finding even more supporters -- including the owner of competing fast food restaurants.
Jim Furman, the biggest Wendy's franchise owner in the world, posted 'We stand with Chick-fil-A' on the signs outside several of his restaurants in North and South Carolina, reported WBTV in Charlotte.
The Wendy's corporate office issued a statement distancing the company from Mr Furman, saying 'we are proud to serve customers of varied races, backgrounds, cultures and sexual orientation, with different beliefs and values.'
Mr Furman took the signs down after speaking with Wendy's officials.
Roman Catholic Cardinal Francis George, the leader of the Archdiocese of Chicago, also sided with Chick-fil-A when he criticized Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for blasting the company's anti-gay marriage stance.
The mayor said the chain's values 'are not Chicago's values' and said he did not welcome plans to build additional restaurants in Chicago.
Face off: When Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said that Chick-fil-A's values 'are not Chicago's values,' Cardinal Francis George said the mayor's view doesn't represent the Catholics who support 'traditional marriage'
Controversy: CEO Dan Cathy drew ire from gay rights groups with his comments about same sex marriage
That opinion was shared and repeated by the mayors of San Francisco and Boston, as well.
Emanuel's words, along with a vow by Alderman Proco 'Joe' Moreno to block any expansion in the city, drew Cardinal George's ire.
'I was born and raised here, and my understanding of being a Chicagoan never included submitting my value system to the government for approval. Must those whose personal values do not conform to those of the government of the day move from the city?' he wrote on the Chicago Archdiocese blog on Sunday.
A church spokeswoman said the cardinal was standing up for 'religious freedom' and that he has long spoken out against same-sex marriage.
Cathy, the son of the company's founder, was quoted in a Baptist newspaper on July 16 saying he was 'guilty as charged' when asked about his opposition to gay marriage.
He later told a Christian radio show: 'I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, "We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage," and I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is about.'
Cathy says Chick-fil-A isn't a Christian company -- however its stores are all closed on Sunday, even in airports and shopping malls, and his company biography says the purpose of his business is to 'glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.'
Opposition: Gay rights supporter Trey King stood outside the Chick-fil-A in Hollywood, California, on Wednesday with a rainbow flag to protest the chain's opposition to gay marriage
Picketing: The massive crowds drew handfuls of gay rights protestors to Chick-fil-A on Wednesday
Chick-fil-A also puts its money where its mouth is, donating $5 million to Christian groups between 2003 and 2010.
The company supported groups like the Family Research Council, which lobbies Congress on a host of conservative social issues -- including the prohibition of gay marriage.
Chick-fil-A, a $4.5 billion company, has made the Cathy family very wealthy. Dan Cathy, who runs operations, owns one-third of the family business -- making him a billionaire.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2183234/Chick-fil-A-CFO-Adam-Smith-fired-verbally-abusing-employee-gay-rights-protest-Same-Sex-Kiss-Day.html#ixzz22WRT9vsu