Pastor admits he lied about a Whole Foods incident that caused a public outcry
Court documents
Jordan Brown, an openly gay pastor at Austin's Church of Open Doors, is now reversing those claims - and dropping a lawsuit he filed against Whole Foods - after the company threatened a countersuit, The New York Times reports.
In a statement on Monday, Brown said:
"The company did nothing wrong. I was wrong to pursue this matter and use the media to perpetuate this story. I want to apologize to Whole Foods and its team members for questioning the company's commitment to its values, and especially the bakery associate who I understand was put in a terrible position because of my actions."
Brown had accused Whole Foods of selling him a cake decorated with the words "Love Wins F--." He posted a tearful video about it last month.
"When I got into my vehicle, I looked inside and saw they had wrote 'Love Wins F--' on it," Brown said in the video. "You can see it nice and clear. Also, it is still in a sealed box. As you see, I have not opened up this box yet."
The video went viral online and he filed a lawsuit alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress.
"Pastor Jordan spent the remainder of the day in tears," the suit reads. "The potential for racial, sexual, religious, and anti-LGBT slurs to be written on personalized cakes is high, and Whole Foods knew or should have known that slurs or harassing messages could be written on cakes and then presented to a customer without any oversight or prior warning."
Whole Foods rejected Brown's claims and threatened a countersuit.
The countersuit claims Brown "intentionally, knowingly and falsely accused Whole Foods and its employees of writing the homophobic slur … on a custom made cake that he ordered from WFM's Lamar Store in Austin."
The company also released a statement saying it reviewed security footage and determined that Brown had tampered with the cake.
"After a deeper investigation of Mr. Brown's claim, we believe his accusations are fraudulent and we intend to take legal action against both Mr. Brown and his attorney," the company wrote.
The company also released a video of Brown checking out to prove that the label on the cake box was on top of the box. You can see Brown checking out in the bottom-right side of the video.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
- Catan adds climate change to the latest edition of the world-famous board game
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- JNK India IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more
- Indian Army unveils selfie point at Hombotingla Pass ahead of 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market