(RNS) A gay pastor has admitted that he falsely accused Whole Foods of icing an anti-gay slur onto a chocolate cake he ordered.
Pastor Jordan Brown, 31, of the nondenominational Church of Open Doors in Austin, Texas, apologized in a statement Monday (May 16) to the baker of the cake, the store, his partner and the gay community, and dropped the lawsuit he had filed against the food market.
“The company did nothing wrong,” the statement said. “I was wrong to pursue this matter and use the media to perpetuate this story.”
Whole Foods — which had strongly denied the charge last month and noted that the baker was also part of the LGBT community — accepted the pastor’s apology and dropped its $100,000 countersuit against Brown.
Brown had asked for a cake that read “Love Wins,” a phrase often used to celebrate gay relationships, in blue icing. He later produced a picture of the cake that showed a gay slur written below “Love Wins.”
“That’s not the cake I ordered, @WholeFoods and I am offended for myself & the entire #LGBT community,” Brown had tweeted.