Truth rating: 10
2:52 pm, September 26th, 2013
(Getty Images)
The chairman of Barilla Group is under fire after he said he wouldn’t feature gay people in his advertisements and said critics can “eat another brand” of pasta.
Guido Barilla told Italian radio show “La Zanzara” on Thursday, “I would never do [a commercial] with a homosexual couple, not for lack of respect but because we don’t agree with them. Ours is a classic family where the woman plays a fundamental role,” according to a Reuters translation.
The CEO added, “Ours is a classic family where the woman plays a fundamental role… if [gays] don’t like it then they will not eat it and they will eat another brand.”
His comments caused a firestorm of controversy in Italy, with a number of gay rights activists urging people to boycott the company.
Barilla later apologized for his remarks, saying in a statement, “I only wanted to underline the central role of the woman in the family.”
A number of celebrities in the U.S. are now taking to Twitter to react to Barilla’s comments.
Chrissy Teigen tweeted, “Barilla has a right to believe whatever they want. And I have the right to boycott them or fully fund a gay porn made in a tub of linguine.”
Ted Allen, the host of “Chopped” who appeared on “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” wrote, “Funny/weird, considering Barilla once hired me for a national PR gig–while Queer Eye was on the air…”
“Thinking of lasagne? Skip over Barilla pasta,” said Jodi Picoult.
Gossip Cop will update as more stars tweet about the controversy.
Tell us what you think of Barilla’s comments below.
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