Whole Foods Plans To Sue Pastor Who Claimed Cake Had Gay Slur On It [VIDEO]

Whole Foods says it plans to take legal action against the man who claimed a cake he purchased had a gay slur written on it.

Jordan Brown is a pastor at the Church of Open Doors in Austin who received national media coverage on Monday (4/17) after he claimed an Austin Whole Foods bakery employee wrote a homophobic slur on a cake he bought from the store.

Whole Foods fired back immediately, denying the slur was written on Brown's cake by an employee in the bakery of their flagship Austin store—who happens to be a member of the LGBTQ community.

Upon further investigation, Whole Foods announced via their website they believe Brown isn't telling the whole truth.

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. Here’s what we know:

• Our bakery team member wrote “Love Wins” at the top of the cake, which was visible to Mr. Brown through the clear portion of the packaging. That’s exactly how the cake was packaged and sold at the store. Whole Foods Market has a strict policy that prohibits team members from accepting or designing bakery orders that include language or images that are offensive.
• Mr. Brown admits that he was in sole possession and control of the cake until he posted his video, which showed the UPC label on the bottom and side of the box.
• After reviewing our security footage of Mr. Brown, it’s clear that the UPC label was in fact on top of the cake box, not on the side of the package.  This is evident as the cashier scans the UPC code on top of the box, which you can view here.
• We stand behind our bakery team member, who is part of the LGBTQ community, and we appreciate the team members and shoppers who recognize that this claim is completely false and directly contradicts Whole Foods Market’s inclusive culture, which celebrates diversity.

Yours Truly, Whole Foods Market

The store also posted surveillance footage of the pastor, wearing an orange t-shirt and jeans, at the register paying for the cake. Brown claimed he didn't look at the cake until he got into his car after leaving Whole Foods, but the openly gay pastor said he has dealt with that type of humiliation in the past and that "painful memories" had resurfaced.

People have taken to the Whole Foods Facebook page to chime in on the controversy—some backing Brown, but many others backing Whole Foods.

Do you believe there is more to the story? Is the pastor being completely truthful, or do you believe a Whole Foods employee wrote the slur on the cake?

Comment with your thoughts below!

[via NBC News]