Austin Pastor Who Accused Whole Foods Of Gay Slur On Cake Drops Suit

AUSTIN, TX -- The pastor who previously accused a Whole Foods Market employee of writing a gay slur with icing on a pre-ordered cake has dropped his lawsuit against the Austin-based grocery store chain, according to media reports.

"The company did nothing wrong," Pastor Jordan Brown said in a prepared statement released Monday. "I was wrong to pursuie this matter and use the media to perpetuate this story."

Brown had claimed the cake he ordered with the slogan "Love Wins" for one of his parishioners had the slur added to it upon its delivery.

The pastor now has apologized to the company for having made the claim in the first place: “I want to apologize to Whole Foods and its team members for questioning the company’s commitment to its values,”

The pastor's statement has been reported in several media outlets, including the Austin American-Statesman.

The carefully worded statement comes short of saying the accusation against Whole Foods was false. Immediately after Brown accused the grocery of writing a three-letter homosexual slur that starts with "f" on his cake, his story started to fall apart.

In response, Whole Foods released video surveillance of Brown picking up his cake. They then compared the video Brown made of the altered cake, noting discrepancies in the packaging as it was released to Brown and the presentation as shown in a video Brown released in making his allegation.

It was later revealed Brown was having financial problems at the time of his lawsuit in which he sought damages, which emerged as a possible motive for having sought a settlement against Whole Foods for the purported slur.

In response to the dropped lawsuit, Whole Foods also released a statement, saying they also would drop their counter-suit against Brown as a result of his admission. The grocer had filed litigation against Brown for accusing them of inserting a gay slur on his cake, seeking $100,000 in damages.

“Given Mr. Brown’s apology and public admission that his story was a complete fabrication, we see no reason to move forward with our counter suit to defend the integrity of our brand and team members,” Whole Foods’ statement reads.

Brown is the pastor of the Church of Open Doors, which meets at an apartment complex on East Riverside Drive.