Chick-Fil-A Fraggle Split - H 2012
Getty ImagesAfter partnering on a puppet promotion, The Jim Henson Company is giving Chick-Fil-A one more finger.
In what is the latest public rebuke of the southern-fried fast food chain after its president, Dan Cathy, admitted that the company is against gay marriage, the puppetry and production studio run by the Muppets’ creator’s daughter announced that they will no longer be associated with the restaurants.
“The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over 50 years and we have notified Chick-Fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors,” the company wrote on its Facebook page Friday. “Lisa Henson, our CEO, is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-Fil-A to GLAAD.”
The Jim Henson Company is in the midst of a partnership with Chick-Fil-A on a promotion that provided Jim Henson Creature Puppets — a make-your-own puppet kit — to kids indulging on their poultry. They had previously worked together, in the fall of 2011, on a campaign for the show Pajanimals.
Cathy, who is the company’s COO and son of its founder, blew open what has always been a controversial company policy: its support, through donations, to organizations that actively oppose gay rights. In an interview with Baptist Press, Cathy responded “guilty as charged” when asked about the company’s stance — he claims to run it on “Christian values” — and was undaunted by the potential fallout.
“We intend to stay the course,” he said. “We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”
