Chairman Guido Barilla causes outrage in Italy after saying he would not consider using a gay family to advertise his products
Guido Barilla is
accused by Aurelio Mancuso, chairman of Equality Italia, of being
deliberately provocative. Photograph: Frank Augsteinb/AP
Guido Barilla, who controls the fourth-generation Barilla Group family business with his two brothers, sparked outrage among activists, consumers and some politicians when he said he would not consider using a gay family to advertise Barilla pasta.
"For us the concept of the sacred family remains one of the basic values of the company," he told Italian radio on Wednesday evening. "I would not do it but not out of a lack of respect for homosexuals who have the right to do what they want without bothering others … [but] I don't see things like they do and I think the family that we speak to is a classic family."
Asked what effect he thought his attitude would have on gay consumers of pasta, Barilla said: "Well, if they like our pasta and our message they will eat it; if they don't like it and they don't like what we say they will … eat another."
In response, Aurelio Mancuso, chairman of Equality Italia, accused Barilla of being deliberately provocative. "Accepting the invitation of Barilla's owner to not eat his pasta, we are launching a boycott campaign against all his products," he added.
Within hours, the hashtag 'boicotta-barilla' was trending on Twitter. The Barilla chairman issued a statement saying that he was sorry if his remarks had caused offence and that he had only been trying to draw attention to the "central role" played by women within the family.
Read more.....
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/26/pasta-firm-barilla-boycott-gay
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