Gay rights advocates are calling for a boycott of Barilla, the world’s leading pasta maker, after its chairman said he would never feature a gay couple in his advertisements.
Guido Barilla, whose company has almost half the Italian pasta market with almost a quarter of that in the U.S., said on an Italian radio broadcast Sept. 25: “I would never do an advert with a homosexual family…if the gays don’t like it they can go an eat another brand.”
“For us the concept of the sacred family remains one of the fundamental values of the company,” he said, according to a report in the The Independent.
Barilla continued with an attack on gay parents and adoption.
“I have no respect for adoption by gay families because this concerns a person who is not able to choose,” he said.
Equality Italia, a gay rights advocacy group, said Barilla’s comments were an “offensive provocation” and called for a boycott of the company’s pasta, sauces and snacks.
“We accept his invitation to not eat his pasta,” said Aurelio Mancuso, president of Equality Italia.
Within hours of his comments, the hashtag #boicottabarilla (boycottbarilla) was trending on Twitter following the outrage of a number of Italy’s elected leaders.
“Here we have another example of homophobia, Italian style,” said Alessandro Zan, a member of Italy’s Parliament. “I’m boycotting Barilla and I invite other MPs…to do the same. I’ve already changed pasta brands. Barilla is terrible quality.”
Barilla tried to do damage control late Thursday with an apology that seemed hollow and too late. He faces a potential global boycott of his products.
“I’m sorry if my comments on La Zanzara have created misunderstanding or polemic, or if I’ve offended anyone. In the interview I only wanted to underline the central role of the woman in the family,” he said.
