Twitter Boss Tweets From Chick-Fil-A, Stirs Controversy

ATLANTA, GA — Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey probably didn't plan on stirring up a testy political debate when he tweeted about a sandwich purchase on Saturday. But ... hey ... it's Twitter.

Dorsey got hundreds of replies on his post, which showed he'd made a purchase at a Los Angeles location of Atlanta-based Chick-Fil-A. While some supported the purchase, many of the more than 630 replies he'd gotten by Monday morning took Dorsey to task for supporting Chick-Fil-A, which they called an anti-gay company.

"I wonder how the LGBTQ employees of Twitter feel about this post?" one follower wrote. "He's entitled to eat where he wants and post what he wants. However, a public post, by a CEO ... will garner much attention. Is Twitter really diverse?"

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

In 2012, Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy said the company's owners believe marriage should be only between a man and a woman. "We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives," Cathy said in the interview with Baptist Press.

Members of the Cathy family also have donated to organizations that have fought the legalization of same-sex marriage in several states. After the controversy arose, the company announced a renewed effort to "treat every person with honor, dignity and respect." In 2014, Cathy told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he regretted that his statements aligned with anti-gay attitudes.

Dorsey's tweet on Saturday appeared to be a post via Boost, a mobile, e-wallet app that lets users pay for products at participating retailers without using cash. But that was enough to touch off a testy Twitter debate.

"Chick-fil-A funded several anti gay marriage groups and has a long history of bigoted hiring and firing practices," one Twitter user wrote during a back-and-forth in the thread. "Speak with your money and spend your money in ways that help promote LGBT Americans in positive ways. Other companies sell chicken that don’t hate you."

Related News: New Yorker Magazine Slams Chick-Fil-A 'Infiltration

Dorsey, and Chick-Fil-A, also had some supporters in the thread.

"(D)on’t give in to these people and their complaints," one follower wrote. "I’m gay and I LOVE Chick-fil-A. Ridiculous. Go on and eat that Chick-fil-A and post as much as you want about it!"

For his part, Dorsey seemed to feel bad about the post, replying that he "completely forgot" about the controversy the restaurant has courted. This being Twitter, even that got a response.

"This just shows what a sad world we live in...when a guy feels he has to apologize for eating a chicken sandwich?!" one user wrote.

Dan Cathy's father, Truett Cathy, opened his first restaurant — originally Dwarf Grill and then The Dwarf House — in Hapeville in 1946. In 1984 the company, now Chick-Fil-A, established its corporate headquarters in Atlanta.

Photo courtesy Chick-Fil-A