A pastor in Austin, Texas said he ordered a cake from Whole Foods on April 14 that had a homophobic slur written on top, according to CBS affiliates.
The pastor, Jordan Brown, claimed he ordered a cake that said "Love Wins," but the cake he received said "Love Wins F--."
Brown said that he did not notice the added word until he was in his car.
Brown called Whole Foods and spoke to an employee who was extremely apologetic and said that offending employee would be fired. However, two hours later, Brown received a call from the store manager who said that the Whole Foods employee did not write the slur.
"The team member wrote 'Love Wins' at the top of the cake as requested by the guest and that's exactly how the cake was packaged and sold at the store," Whole Foods wrote in regards to Brown's claims. "Our team members do not accept or design bakery orders that include language or images that are offensive. Whole Foods Market has a zero tolerance policy for discrimination."
After contacting Whole Foods corporate headquarters but receiving no substantial response after three days, Brown filed a lawsuit against the company.
"Pastor Brown never asked for this to happen. He continues to be overwhelmed by the feelings of pain, anguish, and humiliation because of this incident," said Austin Kaplan, Brown's attorney. "He frequently shopped at Whole Foods, which makes this all the more shocking and disappointing. What really concerns him is knowing that unless some action is taken, this kind of thing could happen again, and that someone else might have to go through a similarly excruciating experience."
Kaplan added, "My client has not been trained. He does not have icing. He didn't do it. Simply, he received the cake that way."
Brown is the founder of the Church of Open Doors, a non-denominational Christian church.
