Chick-fil-A is quickly becoming more well-known for its alleged anti-gay donations than for its fried chicken.
As reported by Equality Matters and The Advocate -- among other publications -- a newly-released analysis of Chick-fil-A's charitable work has found that the fast found chain donated nearly $2 million to anti-gay groups over the course of 2010.
Among the many groups to receive donations through Chick-fil-A's WinShape Foundation, which was created by Chick-fil-A founder and chairman S. Truett Cathy in 1984, were the Marriage & Family Foundation ($1,188,380), Exodus International ($1,000) and the Family Research Council (also $1,000), Equality Matters reported.
Meanwhile, The New Civil Rights Movement's David Badash presents an even more disturbing figure: that Chick-fil-A has donated an estimated $5 million to anti-gay organizations and hate groups between 2003 and 2010.
Not surprisingly, the revelation has already sparked a number of impassioned responses from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates and media outlets. "Let's face it: despite what the company's president says, Chick-Fil-A is an anti-gay corporation," wrote Tyler Coates for BlackBook. "And, on that note, I'm just going to have to assume that anyone who spends their money there are completely fine with the fact that an anti-gay corporation not only exists, but pushes money to other groups to continue the widespread practice of discriminating against everyone in the LGBT community."
Calling the reported donations "a fat middle finger" to LGBT consumers, Instinct magazine proclaimed, "Looks like gays won't be chowing down at Chick-fil-A anytime soon!"
The Atlanta-based chain's questionable contributions have been both well reported and the subject of a number of high-profile protests. Last November, Equality Matters published an earlier report, noting that Chick-fil-A had similarly donated $2 million to anti-gay groups in 2009.
In February, Northeastern University officials reportedly squashed plans for a campus-based franchise of the fast food chain, after "student concerns reflected [Chick-fil-A's] history of donating to anti-gay organizations," according to the Boston Globe. One month earlier, New York University student Hillary Dworkoski launched a petition calling for NYU to close its Chick-fil-A franchise, reportedly the only one in Manhattan.
Still, in a 2011 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy (the son of company founder Truett Cathy) defended his company, calling blogosphere reports "folklore." Cathy then noted, "We're not anti-anybody. Our mission is to create raving fans."