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Muppets dump Chick-Fil-A to support gay marriage

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(L-R) Walt Disney Studios president Rich Ross, Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company, and her brother Brian Henson, chairman of The Jim Henson Company attend ceremonies honoring the Muppets with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California March 20, 2012. REUTERS/Fred Prouser

(L-R) Walt Disney Studios president Rich Ross, Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company, and her brother Brian Henson, chairman of The Jim Henson Company attend ceremonies honoring the Muppets with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California March 20, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Fred Prouser

LOS ANGELES | Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:56pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Muppets are ending their relationship with fast food restaurant chain Chick-Fil-A in a show of support for gay marriage, the creators of the puppet troupe said on Monday.

"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 company said in a statement posted on their official Facebook page.

The Henson company, named after the creator of lovable characters like Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, supplied their Creature Shop Muppet toys to Chick-Fil-A for children's meal packages but decided to sever ties after recent statements by the fast-food chain's Chief Executive Dan Cathy.

Cathy told the Baptist Press in a recent interview the company supported the "traditional family," and "the biblical definition of the family unit."

The Henson company, whose Muppet characters are hugely popular, said its Chief Executive Lisa Henson is a "strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-Fil-A to GLAAD," the company said in their statement.

GLAAD is the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

Representatives for Chick-Fil-A were not immediately available for comment on Monday, but the company posted on their Facebook page last week that their restaurants "treat every person with honor, dignity and respect - regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender."

They added that they wanted to "leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena."

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Philip Barbara)
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Comments (13)
arttie wrote:
Time to dump the Muppets! I do NOT support homosexuality in any way, shape, or form. And, I’m an Atheist.

Jul 23, 2012 10:08pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
ccharles wrote:
soon to come… a gay muppet. BOOOOO

Jul 23, 2012 11:18pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
AZWarrior wrote:
The left doesn’t support free speech unless it is their speech. Disney should stick to cranking out bad entertainment and leave the political stuff alone.

Jul 23, 2012 11:29pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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