Chick-fil-A is once again attempting to launch in the United Kingdom, only this time it's consulting a large LGBTQ+ charity to help repair its reputation.
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The chicken chain has tried to launch in the country before, but the first location shut down after six months in 2019 following protests by LGBTQ+ activists. Another location in Scottish Highlands shut down months after opening the same year after 1,200 people signed a petition calling for it to close.
Now, as the company prepares to open five locations in the U.K., LGBTQ+ rights group Stonewall has been reportedly had numerous conversations with management, focusing on employee protections.
“We frequently have conversations with companies and organizations at various stages on their journey to becoming more inclusive workplaces for their employees,” a spokesperson for Stonewall said viaThe Telegraph. “We have had some recent conversations with Chick-fil-A about the training and services we could provide to support the company on this journey.”
Related: Is Chick-fil-A still anti-LGBTQ+? Here’s its full record
The company most notoriously has drawn criticism and boycotts over its millions in donations to various groups with anti-LGBTQ+ ties, including over $1.7 million in 2009 alone. The Chick-fil-A Foundation donated $1.8 million to three anti-LGBTQ organizations in 2017, $1,653,416 going to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which enforces a "sexual purity" policy that bars "homosexual acts."
Chick-fil-A gave another $1.65 million to the FCA and $115,000 to The Salvation Army in 2018, before announcing in 2019 that it would cease its donations to the companies, and that its foundation would only donate to a select few organizations. However, Tim Tassopoulos, president and chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A, said in the announcement that "no organization will be excluded from future consideration — faith-based or non-faith-based."
Chick-fil-A's profits have continued to fund efforts to block the Equality Act, which would update federal laws to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in employment, housing, education, credit, and more. Former CEO Dan Cathy was revealed by The Daily Beast in 2021 to be among several Christian billionaires who gave millions to the National Christian Charitable Foundation (NCF), which has spearheaded the blockage of the Equality Act.
