Loading...
|| News ||
Page 1 of 1

Antigay Remark Draws Firing

A Brookstone manager says he was "offended" by a lesbian colleague's discussion of her marriage plans and was fired for telling her so.

PETER VIDALA X390 (YOUTUBE) | ADVOCATE.COM

A Massachusetts man says he was fired from his management position at a Brookstone store because he told a fellow manager in the chain he disapproved of her marriage to another woman.

Peter Vidala, 24, who was second deputy manager of the Brookstone at Logan Airport in Boston, said the other manager was visiting from another Brookstone location in August and mentioned her upcoming marriage several times. After visiting the airport’s chapel, Vidala said, he felt “God wanted me to express how I felt about the matter,” so he told her, “Regarding your homosexuality, I think that’s bad stuff,” FoxNews.com reported Saturday.

He said the woman, whom he declined to identify, responded by saying, “Human resources, buddy — keep your opinions to yourself.” Two days later, Vidala said, he received a termination letter, which cited the retailer’s zero-tolerance policy on harassment and inappropriate comments.

The letter read in part, “While you are entitled to your own beliefs, imposing them upon others in the workplace is not acceptable and in this case, by telling a colleague that she is deviant and immoral, constitutes discrimination and harassment.”

Vidala told FoxNews.com he did tell human resources he regarded homosexuality as “deviant,” but he did not use that term in talking with the woman. He also said he was “offended” by hearing about her marriage plans and believed she was trying to elicit a comment from him. “In general, I believe people don't want to hear about controversial issues like that in the workplace,” he said. “They shouldn’t have to.” He said he is considering filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Brookstone president and CEO Ron Boire issued a statement to Fox in which he declined to comment on the specific incident beyond saying it had been investigated thoroughly and fairly, adding that Brookstone is dedicated to providing a harassment-free workplace and is proud of its diverse workforce.

Watch video of the story here.

Click here to follow The Advocate on Twitter. Page 1 of 1
Reader Comments
  • Name: Rick Rivas
    Date posted: 11/17/2009 12:43:49 AM
    Hometown: Long Beach

    Comment:

    Good, I'm glad you got fired, there is not room for this type of discrimination or harassment, you deserved it buddy!

  • Name: Jack Monday
    Date posted: 11/16/2009 12:51:38 AM
    Hometown: Iowa City

    Comment:

    If the manager did, as alleged, tell Vidala several times of her marriage then she is guilty of sexual harassment. Note that she has power over him, not the other way around, and it appears she was making the workplace a hostile environment for him. He should hire an attorney and sue her and the bookstore.

  • Name: Rick
    Date posted: 11/15/2009 2:40:33 AM
    Hometown: Bowling Green, KY

    Comment:

    what a douchebag

  • Name: Frank
    Date posted: 11/11/2009 12:34:00 PM
    Hometown: Watsonville, CA

    Comment:

    The law is claar and it must be simple to be enforcable. People do not "open themselves up" for bigotry, criticism, judgemtn, and discrimination because the reveal their sexual preference. Peter did not have to say what he said. By saying what he said he was breaking the law. It is simple.

  • Name: Paul Hartnett
    Date posted: 11/10/2009 6:29:35 PM
    Hometown: Tewksbury

    Comment:

    Brookstone had a duty and an obligation to fire this guy. He was in a management position and should have known of the company’s policy against harassment. If he had told a Jew or a Muslim or an African American or a Latino that he disapproved of them because of HIS religious beliefs would that have been okay? NO, so why is this any different? Bigotry is what it is and he deserved to be fired. Not everyone is christian.

  • Name: J Steiner
    Date posted: 11/10/2009 2:04:12 PM
    Hometown: Denver

    Comment:

    I find it amazing that he seems to have no concept of why this would easily get him fired. It's as if his holier-than-though arrogance prevents him from pondering what it would be like if someone came up to him and told him that his heterosexual lifestyle/marriage was deviant.

  • Name: ArtNOLA
    Date posted: 11/10/2009 9:28:51 AM
    Hometown: New Orleans

    Comment:

    This is stupidity not discrimination. The man is entitled to his opinion as much as she is entitled to talk about her pending marriage. She was a "visiting" manager which means she probably didn't know him very well so she really shouldn't have been discussing her personal life with him in the first place. Since she chose to bring it up more than once, she opened herself up to him giving his opinion. Had he simply made some off the cuff gay slur in front of everyone after a gay couple left, that would be different but she continued to discuss something with him which he was apparently offended by so she should have been talked to by management as well. I wish we would stop being so sensitive to every insensitive remark people make. All this does is make others resent us and not want to give us equal rights. As a whole we need to grow up and get some balls and stop crying everytime some playground bully hurts our feelings.

  • Name: Paul
    Date posted: 11/10/2009 9:05:29 AM
    Hometown: Detroit

    Comment:

    If this so-called christer has a so-called direct connection with his so-called deity (air quotes) why doesn't he pray for a better job than lower management in an airport gift shop? Since prayer, allegedly, works he should have no problem finding a legal (air quotes) job in Massachusetts - the state where you can be fired for being a christer. That's the so-called reality (air quotes) he is attempting to state isn't it? If you are a so-called good christer then anything negative you have to say about another so-called person or group of persons is not prejudice or bigotry it is (air quotes) opinion and sanctioned by and from the bible...or as I like to call it "the babble".

  • Name: Chris
    Date posted: 11/10/2009 8:12:53 AM
    Hometown: NYC/Berlin

    Comment:

    @ TONY - Because the Bible is stating all those ancient views on things it is not a good book at all. Millions and millions of people were killed because of that damn fucking book. It's not GOOD! It's only an instrument to control people and make those who are different in any way feel bad. If you still let yourself be told that homosexuality is a sin - poor you. Think for yourself and dispose of that ancient book of hatred and lies. Makes life so much easier and happier for everyone.

  • Name: Fred Stanley
    Date posted: 11/10/2009 12:39:58 AM
    Hometown: Palm Springs, CA

    Comment:

    I am a gay Christian and God told me to marry the man I love 17 years ago!!

 PREVIOUS 1 2 3 4 5  ... NEXT  


More Online Only
  • Film Teen Spirit

    While Native American cultures have long honored people of integrated genders, a new documentary looks at a shocking hate crime against a two-gendered Colorado teenager.

  • Politicians L.A. Confidential

    What's it like to be 33, gay, and one of the most powerful people in America's second-largest city? Stressful, says Matt Szabo, the new deputy chief of staff to Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

  • Commentary Love Bites for Twilight's Gay Fans

     

    Gay fanpires are sure to flock to New Moon, but with questions lingering about author Stephanie Meyer and the cash she gives to the Mormon Church, Mike Albo wonders if we'd be better off tying a clove of garlic around our necks.


  • Youth Church Opens Doors for Homeless Gay Teens

    A church-turned-shelter for homeless youth in Queens, New York is a far cry from sleeping on the streets after a $200,000 renovation and a partnership with the Ali Forney Center for LGBT youth.

  • Music France's Latest Export

    He's opened for Britney and Katy Perry, kept Dita Von Teese company in the front row at Paris Fashion Week, and gets name-checked on Twitter by Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, and Sarah Silverman. So who the hell is Sliimy, anyway?

  • Marriage Equality Triumph in the Tar Heel State

    The loss of marriage equality in Maine was a major blow on Election Night, but down the coast in North Carolina there was an LGBT victory. Pam Spaulding talks to Chapel Hill's mayor-elect, Mark Kleinschmidt.

  • Theater Video Content Flag Puppet Masters

    When performance-art drag diva Joey Arias combines forces with master puppeteer Basil Twist, anything — no, seriously, anything — can happen.

  • News Softball With Oprah and Palin

     

    Dave White recaps as Oprah plays nice with Palin in her exclusive, personality-rehabbing interview. Topics include Katie Couric ("badgering"), Levi Johnston ("Ricky Hollywood"), and step class ("gee, it's fun").

  • News View From Washington: Frank Tells

    This week Congressman Barney Frank laid out a plan and a timetable for repealing "don't ask, don't tell..." and a reminder that he's been saying it would happen in 2010 from the beginning.

  • News Features Where's Mitrice?

     

    Mitrice Richardson is a 4.0 student, a former beauty pageant contestant, and a lesbian. She’s also been missing since September, and her family and girlfriend want answers. 


     

  • Theater Seat Filler

    The Advocate’s queen on the New York theater scene meets bisexual conjoined twins, pits Sienna Miller against Jude Law, tastes Cheyenne Jackson’s Rainbow, and saves up for a rainy day with Hugh Jackman.

  • Art Fairey Good 


    Controversial artist Shepard Fairey spends his creative capital to bring marriage equality back to California.

  • Film Crazy Like a Fox

    Hipster actor Jason Schwartzman gets schooled on his gay fans and the Hollywood closet and reveals why he’s never played a gay role.

  • Television Viki Victorious?

     

    Soap icon and six-time Emmy Award winner Erika Slezak talks about the trials and tribulation of playing Victoria Lord and her run for mayor, gay rights, and the sudden death that rocks Llanview.

  • Commentary Called to Serve

    The military continues to operate under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which even the Pentagon says is unsubstantiated. As General McChrystal asks for more troops in Afghanistan, one gay Navy vet offers his service to his country in spite of the policy that would deny him.

  • News Features Marriage Foe Tied to Pro-Gay Companies

    Ford Motor Co. and Reynolds American, two companies that receive consistently high marks from the HRC, have ties with Schubert Flint Public Affairs, the firm that was instrumental in defeating marriage equality in California and Maine.

     

  • News Features A Few Good Men

    In honor of Veteran's Day, two of the most famous gay vets -- Frank Kameny and Dan Choi -- share their letters from Uncle Sam.

Most Popular Stories