So long, U.K. Chick-fil-A.
The fast-food chain, which has received international condemnation for its history of donating to anti-LGBTQ organizations, has officially shuttered its last location in Britain.
The location opened last October in a shopping center in Reading, England. Following public outrage, the center announced that the chicken restaurant's six-month lease would not be renewed.
Another restaurant, located in a Macdonald Hotels property in the Scottish Highlands, closed in January — just months after its October opening. The opening sparked months of protests. Scott Cuthbertson, an LGBTQ activist, launched a petition calling for its closure. It quickly accrued 1,000 signatures.
Additionally, Patrick Harvie, the first out bisexual member of the Scottish Parliament, called for a boycott of Macdonald Hotels among his fellow politicians, who often stay at the luxury Macdonald Aviemore Resort.
"We have a special responsibility to challenge them to drop their association with this toxic U.S. company which funds campaigns to undermine LGBT+ people’s safety and human rights," Harvie said, according to The National.
In November, Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos gave an interview that was widely interpreted as meaning it would no longer donate to organizations with an anti-LGBTQ record such as Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Salvation Army, which have received millions from the popular fast-food chain's foundation over the years.
However, Chick-fil-A made a similar promise in the past and did not follow through. The company subsequently backtracked a bit, saying no organization would be excluded from consideration for grants and that it had "inadvertently discredited" some groups.
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