A protest against homophobia took place at the opening of Chick-fil-A’s first restaurant in London.
The Peter Tatchell Foundation led the small demonstration outside the eatery in Kingston upon Thames on 5 March.
The activists, a human rights organisation that primarily focuses on LGBTQ+ equality, allege that Chick-fil-A has made historic donations to charities that are discriminatory in nature.
Peter Tatchell said: “Chick-fil-A’s funding of bigotry is out of step with British values. We urge consumers to boycott their restaurants. There should be no place in the UK for a business that uses its profits to fund prejudice.”
The allegations date back to 2012, when CEO Dan T. Cathy commented that the company supported “the biblical definition of the family unit”.
The company’s charitable foundation has donated to The Fellowship of Christian Athletes and The Salvation Army, two groups seen as opposing LGBTQ+ marriage equality.
However, Chick-fil-A announced that it had stopped this funding in 2019, and would address education, homelessness and hunger as part of its charitable acts from 2020 onwards.
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes said it was “saddened” and blamed misinformation in response, while The Salvation Army has defended its religious stance in public blogs.
Chick-fil-A’s diversity, equity and inclusion policy now states that they “treat every person with honor, dignity, and respect—regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation, or gender”.
The American chain has tried to conduct business in the UK before the Kingston site opened.
In 2019, Chick-fil-A opened its first English restaurant in Reading, but did not renew its six-month lease after protests.
The Peter Tatchell Foundation said: “We have been unable to secure assurances that Chick-fil-A will not, in the future, fund homophobic organisations that campaign against LGBT+ human rights. Every letter and request for a meeting has been ignored.
“Our protest calls on Chick-fil-A to publicly commit to ending all financial support for organisations promoting discrimination. Until we have that commitment, consumers should boycott Chick-fil-A.”
Nevertheless, the fast food giant is pleased with how business has started at the new site.
Their spokesperson said: “We’re delighted by the turnout at our Kingston opening and the warm welcome we’ve received from the local community.
“As part of our commitment to Kingston, we’ve partnered with local charity Moving On Together to launch a food donation programme supporting people facing food insecurity.
“We look forward to building a positive, long‑term presence in the area and growing alongside the community.”
Featured image credit: Peter Tatchell Foundation
