Gay Group Dumps McDonald’s Over Ad Comments

The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce has severed its relationship with McDonald’s in light of a top executive’s suggestion that a gay-friendly commercial, which aired in France, would never be played in the United States.

According to The Huffington Post, the organization, the largest LGBT business group in the country, representing 1.4 million businesses, issued a letter in response to Don Thompson, McDonald’s chief of operations. Earlier this month he told the Chicago Tribune that different “cultural norms” would prevent a commercial like the French ad featuring a gay teenager and his father from airing in the United States.

The letter states in part, according to The Huffington Post, “We strongly believe that McDonald's plan to distance itself from LGBT and other diverse business segments, coupled with the release of the French TV ad, is ill-advised and counter to the spirit of good business and sound ethics. We sincerely hope that McDonald's will reconsider its position and that the company will again show its support for LGBT people, our families, and our businesses — not just where it is politically expedient but around the globe.”