Chick-Fil-A Has ‘Record-Setting Day’ While Embroiled In Anti-Gay Controversy

Mike Huckabee is probably pretty happy right now.

Chick-fil-A, the chicken restaurant under fire for its president’s public comments against same-sex marriage, announced it set new sales records on Wednesday, or as Huckabee renamed it, “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.”

“While we don’t release exact sales numbers, we can confirm reports that it was a record-setting day,” said Chick-fil-A’s executive vice president of marketing, Steve Robinson, in a statement.

Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, had urged people across the country to “affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse” by showing up at the chicken chain on August 1.

Many appear to have taken Huckabee’s call to heart, flocking to the chain’s roughly 1,600 locations in support of its president’s controversial anti-gay position.

Chick-fil-A has long drawn the ire of pro-gay activists. The company, which boasts about using “biblically-based principles” to run its business, and is not open on Sundays, has been repeatedly criticized for contributions to anti-gay groups. Equality Matters published a report on Chick-fil-A’s charitable work that found that the chain donated nearly $2 million to anti-gay groups in 2010. Among those to reportedly receive donations include the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian organization that has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

But the controversy was enflamed last month when Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy addressed his franchise’s support of the traditional family in an interview with The Bapist Press, saying Cathy was “guilty as charged” of supporting “the biblical definition of the family unit” and that gay marriage invites “God’s judgment on our nation.”

Since then, the fast food chain has become a flashpoint in the debate for gay marriage. Conservative politicians have rallied in support of the chicken restaurant, while pro-gay rights demonstrators are planning Chick-fil-A protests across the country.

While Chick-fil-A celebrates one day of record sales, it’s worth noting that there may be lasting effects that aren’t quite so positive. According to the polling organization YouGov, Chick-fil-A’s brand approval ratings have plummeted in the wake of the media firestorm. According to its data, the company’s overall consumer brand health among fast food eaters has dropped to its lowest levels since mid-August 2010.

And for gay employees, seeing crowds form at Chick-fil-A’s in a show of anti-gay support is nothing less than disheartening.

“I call it hater appreciation day,” said one employee who was interviewed by The Huffington Post. “It’s very, very depressing.”

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• Oreo

  In June 2012, Oreo posted a photo of a rainbow sextuple-stacked cookie to its a href=”https://www.facebook.com/oreo” target=”_hplink”Facebook/a page in honor of Pride month. While the responses were mostly positive, some commenters were outraged, even calling for a a href=”http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/oreo-sees-support-backlash-boycott-gay-pride-rainbow-cookie-article-1.1103369″ target=”_hplink”boycott/a of the product. Still, Basil Maglaris, Kraft’s associate director of corporate affairs, a href=”http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-krafts-gay-pride-oreo-draws-20000-comments-some-flak-20120627,0,490983.story” target=”_hplink”said/a that the positive comments on the post “far outweighed” the negative ones.

• Betty Crocker

  The staple of American domesticity is part of the General Mills family of products, which has been a href=”http://www.dumpgeneralmills.com/?REF=EB120625NANT” target=”_hplink”boycotted by the National Organization for Marriage/a for opposing the Minnesota Marriage Amendment. What better way to celebrate the stand against intolerance than Betty Crocker’s a href=”http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/supermoist-cakes/products/supermoist cake mix/rainbow-chip” target=”_hplink”Rainbow Chip/a cake?

  emCorrection on July 24 at 1:35pm ET: The original version of this slideshow misidentified the name of the Minnesota Marriage Amendment. It has been corrected on this slide and several others throughout the slideshow./em

• Levi’s

  In 1992, Levi’s found itself at odds with the Boy Scout’s ‘Three Gs’ principle that had guided the Scouts’ membership model for more than 80 years — that everyone is welcome, provided they are not gay, godless, or a girl. San Francisco-based Levi’s a href=”http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/boy-scouts-battle-on-antigay-policy-levis-the-denim-firm-has-withdrawn-its-sponsorship-over-the-movements-refusal-to-accept-homosexuals-writes-david-usborne-in-washington-1550450.html” target=”_hplink”pulled its Boy Scout funding/a, due to the group’s exclusion. In response, Republican Dana Rohrabacher encouraged a ‘grassroots’ counter-boycott of Levi Strauss and his Texan colleage, Tom DeLay, was even more extreme in his reaction: “When Texans find out that the Levi’s they have on go toward attacks on the Boy Scouts of America… they’ll take off those Levi’s and burn them in the streets.”

• Cheerios

  Not only will this breakfast cereal reduce your family’s cholesterol but it will reduce your family’s moral integrity as well, according to The National Organization for Marriage. As part of the General Mills family of products, Cheerios is one of the brands that has been a href=”http://www.dumpgeneralmills.com/?REF=EB120625NANT” target=”_hplink”boycotted by NOM/a for opposing the Minnesota Marriage Amendment.

• American Apparel

  In 2009, a href=”http://www.americanapparel.net/” target=”_hplink”American Apparel/a put its “Legalize Gay” t-shirt in storefront windows in Washinton, D.C. When a group of a href=”http://news.change.org/stories/american-apparel-pushes-back-against-anti-lgbt-vandalism” target=”_hplink”anti-LGBT vandals broke the store’s windows/a, the company didn’t back down, but rather agreed to send shirts to any group in D.C. that was fighting for gay rights.

• Disney World

  Although Walt Disney World’s a href=”http://www.gaydays.com/” target=”_hplink”Gay Days/a are not officially sanctioned by the theme park, they were the object of a a href=”http://floridafamily.org/full_article.php?article_no=158″ target=”_hplink”Florida Family Association warning/a. The anti-LGBT group paid to have two planes fly over the park, with warning banners, to deter unsuspecting families from attending the park during Gay Days.

• Starbucks

  In January 2012, when Starbucks released a a href=”http://www.dumpstarbucks.com/documents/memo.pdf” target=”_hplink”memorandum/a voicing support of gay marriage, NOM launched a href=”http://www.dumpstarbucks.com/” target=”_hplink”DumpStarbucks.com/a to urge people to boycott the coffee chain.

• Wheaties

  As part of the General Mills family of products, which has been a href=”http://www.dumpgeneralmills.com/?REF=EB120625NANT” target=”_hplink”boycotted by NOM/a for opposing the Minnesota Marriage Amendment, there are attempts to dethrone Wheaties as the “Breakfast of Champions.”

• Tide Detergent

  In 2004, Procter and Gamble a href=”http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/17/news/fortune500/pg_gay_rights/” target=”_hplink”angered conservatives/a by opposing an anti-gay rights statute that would exempt gays and lesbians from special civil rights protection in its hometown of Cincinnati. In response, the American Family Association a href=”http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/17/news/fortune500/pg_gay_rights/” target=”_hplink”issued a boycott/a of some of PG’s most popular products, including Tide Detergent, and gathered petition signatures from almost 365,000 families urging Procter Gamble to change its policy.

• Microsoft

  In 2005, Microsoft a href=”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1490060/Religious-Right-to-boycott-Microsoft-over-support-for-gay-rights.html” target=”_hplink”came under fire/a from anti-LGBT activists, including evangelical preacher Ken Hutcherson, for its support of a bill in that would outlaw discrimination against homosexuals at work in the state of Washington. In response, Microsoft a href=”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1490060/Religious-Right-to-boycott-Microsoft-over-support-for-gay-rights.html” target=”_hplink”withdrew its support/a of the bill, prompting outrage from gay and liberal activists and criticism from its staff and other big businesses. In response, Bill Gates backtracked again and admitted that he was surprised by the vehemence of the reaction. When the bill was defeated by a single vote, Microsoft’s liberal critics blamed its withdrawal of support for the loss.

• Home Depot

  A May 2012 a href=”http://action.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147521725″ target=”_hplink”post/a on the American Family Association web site proclaims, “AFA is promoting a boycott of Home Depot until it agrees to remain neutral in the homosexual culture war. The total number of people who have signed the Home Depot boycott pledge is 719,037.” The a href=”http://action.afa.net/item.aspx?id=2147496231″ target=”_hplink”pledge/a condemns Home Depot for giving “financial and corporate support to open displays of homosexual activism,” because this helps expose “small children to lascivious displays of sexual conduct by homosexuals and cross-dressers.” In response to the a href=”http://action.afa.net/item.aspx?id=2147496231″ target=”_hplink”pledge/a, which was delivered at Home Depot’s annual shareholder meeting, Chairman Blake a href=”http://action.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147521725″ target=”_hplink”responded/a, “We are, and will remain, committed to a culture that fosters an inclusive environment for our associates, our customers and communities in which we exist.”

• Pampers Diapers

  Diapers are essential to fulfilling the straight family-making dream, which make them an odd target of a ‘pro-family’ boycott. However, in 2004, Proctor and Gamble a href=”http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/17/news/fortune500/pg_gay_rights/” target=”_hplink”angered conservatives/a by opposing an anti-gay rights statute that would exempt gays and lesbians from special civil rights protection in its hometown of Cincinnati. In response, the American Family Association a href=”http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/17/news/fortune500/pg_gay_rights/” target=”_hplink”issued a boycott/a of some of PG’s most popular products, including Pampers Diapers, and gathered petition signatures from almost 365,000 families, urging Procter Gamble to change its policy.

• PepsiCo Products

  After it was discovered that PepsiCo gave a combined $1,000,000 to the a href=”http://www.hrc.org/” target=”_hplink”Human Rights Campaign/a and a href=”http://community.pflag.org/page.aspx?pid=191″ target=”_hplink”PFLAG/a (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) to promote the so-called “homosexual lifestyle” in the workplace, the American Family Accociation posted a “a href=”http://www.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147483718″ target=”_hplink”Boycott Pepsi Pledge/a,” urging conservatives to stay away from Pepsi drinks, Frito Lay chips, Quaker Oats, and Gatorade.

• Safeway

  In June of 2009, Safeway honored Pride by putting large gay/lesbian Pride posters in its stores across America. In response to this celebration of the “gay lifestyle,” the American Family Association a href=”http://www.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147484828″ target=”_hplink”urged conservatives/a to contact their local Safeway, and ask it to “stop promoting homosexuality,” and “let Safeway know if they continue, you will consider grocery shopping with their competitors.”

• Crest Toothpaste

  In 2004, Procter and Gamble a href=”http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/17/news/fortune500/pg_gay_rights/” target=”_hplink”angered conservatives/a by opposing an anti-gay rights statute that would exempt gays and lesbians from special civil rights protection in its hometown of Cincinnati. In response, the American Family Association a href=”http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/17/news/fortune500/pg_gay_rights/” target=”_hplink”issued a boycott/a of some of PG’s most popular products, including Crest Toothpaste, and gathered petition signatures from almost 365,000 families, urging Procter Gamble to change its policy.

• Old Navy

  In 2011, when Old Navy planned to sell shirts to benefit the anti-suicide, anti-bullying a href=”http://www.itgetsbetter.org/” target=”_hplink”It Gets Better/a project, the American Family Association a href=”http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-gays-ought-be-ashamed-national-borders-were-set-god” target=”_hplink”urged members/a to “drop by your Old Navy store in your community and tell them you’re not going to shop at Old Navy until they get their minds right.”

• Girl Scouts

  In 2011, when The Girl Scouts decided to allow a transgender youth to participate, The American Family Association a href=”http://www.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147513279″ target=”_hplink”urged members/a to contact Girl Scout leadership, “expressing your disappointment in their recent decision to allow boys as troop members,” and to “let them know you will not support the Girl Scouts as long as it continues down a path of destructive policies.”

• Macy’s

  In December 2011, a Macy’s dressing room attendant prevented a transgender woman from using a female dressing room, because it violated her religious beliefs. After the woman was fired for refusing to abide by Macy’s pro-LGBT policies, the American Family Association a href=”http://www.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147514523″ target=”_hplink”lamented/a, “The LGBT agenda has become the theater of the absurd” and a href=”http://www.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147514523″ target=”_hplink”urged/a members to contact the Macy’s headquarters to “express… outrage at this injustice to female employees and customers.”

• Target

  In May 2012, Target a href=”http://action.afa.net/uploadedImages/Activism/AFA_Action_Alerts/Action_Alert_Related_Items/targetpride.jpg” target=”_hplink”announced/a that 100% of the purchase price of any of its Pride merchandise would be donated to the pro-LGBT a href=”http://www.familyequality.org/” target=”_hplink”Family Equality Council/a. The American Family Association a href=”http://www.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147521799″ target=”_hplink”lamented/a that “Target is joining President Obama in ramming same-sex marriage down the throats of the American people” and urged members to contact Target Chairman Gregg Steinhafel, to “let him know that a majority of Americans oppose same-sex marriage and are able to use their pocketbooks to voice their opposition to companies that support it.”

  It should be noted that Target has also come under fire from gay advocates. a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/08/lady-gaga-ends-target-lgbt_n_833209.html” target=”_hplink”In 2011, Lady Gaga nixed a deal with Target/a for an exclusive special edition of her “Born This Way” album after it was revealed that the brand had donated $150,000 to MN Forward, a group that was backing Tom Emmer’s gubernatorial bid in Minnesota. Emmer was known for being especially conservative and not supporting equal rights for LGBT citizens.

• J.C. Penney

  Aside from One Million Mom’s a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/ellen-degeneres-jc-penney_n_1247657.html” target=”_hplink”infamous boycott/a of the department store for choosing Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson, J.C. Penney also came under fire in June 2012 when its a href=”http://calendar.jcpenney.com/june/#!book/thebook/16″ target=”_hplink”catalog/a featured two men on the floor playing and hugging their two children at home indicating, a href=”http://www.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147522587″ target=”_hplink”according/a to the American Family Association, that the company made a “departure from its moorings to God’s Word and Mr. Penney’s leadership by taking sides in the cultural war in celebration of homosexuality.” The AFA a href=”http://www.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147522587″ target=”_hplink”urged members/a to “call or visit your local J. C. Penney store manager to politely inform them that you will not be shopping at their store this Father’s Day,” and added, “If you have a store credit card or hold stock with the J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE: JCP), you might consider closing your account and divesting until they become neutral in the culture war.”

• Pillsbury

  Pillsbury is part of the General Mills family of products, which has been a href=”http://www.dumpgeneralmills.com/?REF=EB120625NANT” target=”_hplink”boycotted by NOM/a for opposing the Minnesota Marriage Amendment.

• Walgreen’s

  In 2006, Walgreen’s was a Platinum-Level sponsor of the Chicago “a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_Games” target=”_hplink”Gay Games/a.” According to Tom Kovach of a href=”http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/kovach/060319″ target=”_hplink”RenewAmerica.com/a, “by its very definition, the ‘Gay’ Games will invite people from all over the world to come to Chicago this summer and have homo-sex,” and Walgreen’s support contradicted it “squeaky-clean, family-friendly corporate image.” Kovach wasn’t alone in his condemnation — the Illinois Family Institute a href=”http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2005-10-19/news/0510190382_1_walgreens-gay-games-vii-michael-polzin” target=”_hplink”voiced opposition/a and considered urging members to boycott the Pharmacy chain.

• Ford

  In 2005, the American Family Association a href=”http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8047423/ns/business-us_business/t/another-swing-pocketbook/#.T-x3GCtSTDV” target=”_hplink”launched a boycott campaign/a against Ford for being “the company which has done the most to affirm and promote the homosexual lifestyle.” The group criticized Ford for donating money to gay-rights organizations (Ford offered to give up to $1,000 to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation for every Jaguar and Land Rover it sells to a member of GLAAD) and complained that Ford had sponsored Pride celebrations, advertised in gay-oriented publications and was “redefining the definition of the family to include homosexual marriage.”

• Gap

  When Gap launched an ad campaign featuring two men pressed together under a shared t-shirt, anti-LGBT group One Million Moms, which is part of the American Family Association, launched a boycott, a href=”http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/gay-issues/one-million-moms-protests-gap-clothing-gay-billboard” target=”_hplink”stating/a, “GAP Inc. Brands, including Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime, and Athleta, does not deserve, nor will it get, money from conservative families across the country. Supporting GAP is not an option until they decide to remain neutral in the culture war. GAP needs to seriously consider how their immoral advertising affect the youth of our nation.”

• Green Giant

  The frozen vegetable brand is part of the General Mills family of products, which, in June 2012, was a href=”DumpGeneralMills.com ” target=”_hplink”boycotted by NOM/a for opposing the Minnesota Marriage Amendment.

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Chinese Art Reproduction Website Sells Cezanne And Monet For $20

Paintings by Paul Cezanne have sold for over a million dollars at auction houses, the last one fetching over $1.8 million at Sotheby’s in February of this year. But you can buy what looks like an authentic still life by Cezanne for anywhere between $20 and $180 on the website Oil Paintings-Supplier. The Chinese company boasts a roster of hundreds of modern and contemporary artists, selling hand-painted reproductions that are nothing short of identical to the original masterpieces.

The business of oil painting reproductions has been around for some time, and one might argue it’s not really hurting artists like Paul Cezanne or other painters who are no longer with us. Instead, it’s allowing art enthusiasts on a budget to admire a work of fine art — albeit a fake — in their own home. But for contemporary and emerging artists, it’s a drastically different story. Elaine Murphy, an artist from Naples, Florida whose reproduced work is being sold on the site, was not alerted to the organization’s decision to use her images, according to an article by Naples News. And these reproduced versions of Murphy’s paintings are effectively competing with the original works she’s currently making and selling at justifiably higher prices.

Murphy and a Naples law firm quoted in the article claim that the reproductions fall under intellectual property theft, and have embarked on steps to stop the forgeries from being sold. Murphy has contacted the FBI and a nongovernmental group, Legal Art, and is waiting for both complaints to be filed. Lauren Gersny and Pia Lestrade-Dahms from Legal Art told HuffPost Arts in a joint e-mail that about half of their cases are intellectual property issues, and the number seems to be growing. (Case in point: Cariou v. Prince.)

The process of removing Murpy’s work from the site is expected to be tenuous, as a certified specialist in intellectual property law, Jeannie Seewald, told Naples News: “You may be able to get the company to take down their listing of your work, but within days they’re open on a new site with it. If you keep following them and making them take down their copies of your work, they may decide it’s too much of a hassle to be reproducing your art. That’s your best chance.”

Oil Paintings-Supplier does admit in their “About Us” section to using “more than one hundred skillful and experienced painters” to create the various oil paintings. They even promise to refund a remarkable 110% of the costs if the works do not meet customer expectations. Yet the individual descriptions for each painting make no notice of the fact that the canvases are reproductions, stating in the product description that they are “100% hand-painted oil paintings,” complete with the artists’ signatures. According to a New York Times article on the famous art forger Ken Perenyi, these types of reproductions have been permissible in the past, and have only been considered acts of fraud when someone actively misrepresents a copy as an original.

What do you think of art reproduction services? Do you think these businesses are bringing fine art to the people or are they jeopardizing the legacies and emerging careers of artists? Let us know in the comments section below!

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