Chick-fil-a’s PR chief dies suddenly
Separately, New York’s mayor says he won’t ban the chain although he backs gay marriage.
The death of a top Chickfil-A executive added to the fast-food chain’s difficulties in trying to extricate itself from the public relations imbroglio ignited by its president’s comments on samesex marriage.
Don Perry, who had worked for the Atlanta company for 29 years and was its vice president for public relations, died unexpectedly Friday, reportedly from a heart attack.
Perry had helmed the chain’s official response to the controversy that erupted last week after Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy spoke publicly against gay marriage, saying his company supported “the biblical definition of the family unit.”
The statements sparked passionate response from supporters and critics, prompting Perry to tell reporters that the company wanted to “leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”
Perry emphasized that the chain’s policy was to “treat every person with honor, dignity and respect — regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.”
Chick-fil-A announced Perry’s death hours after New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a staunch supporter of same-sex marriage, refused to ban the company from opening restaurants in his city.
Bloomberg’s comments, made in a radio broadcast, came after the mayors of Boston, Chicago and San Francisco said they didn’t want Chick-fil-A outlets in their cities.
Bloomberg said the chain could expand in New York as long as it passed through the same permitting requirements as any other company.
“I just don’t think it’s the government’s business, pe-
riod,” Bloomberg said of threats to block the chain. “This is just a bad idea, and it’s not going to happen in New York City.”
But Chick-fil-a might find it difficult to grow on certain college campuses. Students at seven universities, including the university of Illinois, the University of Kansas and Minnesota State University, launched petitions on Change.org this week to try to remove the restaurants from their campuses or keep them from coming.
Students at New York University have long known about the company’s conservative views — the chain has donated money to antigay-marriage groups — and had a petition pending to kick out the on-campus Chick-fil-A.
In the aftermath of the same-sex controversy, the number of signatures surged by as much as 2,500 to more than 15,000.
In Orange County, protesters outside a store Thursday in Laguna Hills tried to divert customers to other fast food outlets.
Actors Roseanne Barr, Ed Helms and Mia Farrow took to Twitter to express their disappointment in Chick-fil-A. Jim Henson Co. pulled out of a partnership with the company to make toys for its kids’ meals. Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, along with thousands of fellow customers, said he would boycott the chain.
On the opposite side, former presidential candidate Rick Santorum showed support by taking his children to a Chick-fil-A restaurant. Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin called the backlash “chilling.”
And former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee declared next Wednesday “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.”