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Chick-fil-A now has toys to replace the Jim Henson Muppets that were stopped from being included in their kid’s meals. The new toys are generating a controversy of their own for the restaurant that has been under fire recently due to the anti-gay views of the company’s president.
Chick-fil-A now has toys to replace the Jim Henson Muppets that were stopped from being included in its kids' meals, according to The Wrap. Although, the new toys are generating a controversy of their own for the restaurant that has been under fire recently since the company's president Dan Cathy came out as openly anti same-sex marriage.
Chick-fil-A, a fast-food chain based in Georgia, plans to include books from the Berenstain Bears series in kid’s meals beginning in August, even though family members of Stan and Jan Berenstain, the Bears’ creators, are not happy about it.
The Berenstain family updated the Bears’ official website with a statement making it clear that the inclusion of books from the Berenstain Bears series in Chick-fil-A kid’s meals is not an endorsement of the restaurant’s policies.
Dear Friends,
Our publisher, HarperCollins, is marketing several of their Berenstain Bears titles through a kids' meal promotion at Chick-fil-A scheduled for August. This program was in development for over a year. We were unaware of any controversy involving Chick-Fil-A until July 25th.
The Berenstain family does not at this time have control over whether the program proceeds or not. We hope those concerned about this issue will direct their comments toward HarperCollins and Chick-fil-A.
Sincerely,
The Berenstain Family
The last provider of toys for Chick-fil-A kid’s meals, Jim Henson Company, ended its partnership with the restaurant late last month. The company went one step further vowing to donate any profits made from the deal to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
In a post on the Henson company’s Facebook Page the company noted "The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors."
The controversy with Chick-fil-A, which has upset customers and activists in the past by donating large amounts of money to anti-gay organizations, intensified recently when the president, Cathy, informed the Baptist Press of his support for of marriage being between a man and a woman, and that the company shares a similar Bible-based philosophy. "We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit," he said. "We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that."
