News
Twitter CEO apologizes for eating at Chick-fil-A during Pride month
Soledad O’Brien, others questioned the endorsement


Jack Dorsey (Photo by David Shankbone via Wikimedia Commons)
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has apologized for eating at Chick-fil-A after some Twitter users blasted him for spending money at the chain restaurant during Pride month.
Dorsey tweeted a screenshot showing he used Chick-fil-A’s app to purchase a meal on Saturday.
Boost ā¦@ChickfilAā© pic.twitter.com/W03oKeGgGT
ā jack (@jack) June 10, 2018
Some people raised eyebrows at Dorsey’s meal choice given CEO of Chick-fil-A Dan T. Cathy has openly opposed same-sex marriage.
Journalist Soledad O’Brien questioned Dorsey’s endorsement tweeting, “This is an interesting company to boost during Pride month, @jack.”
Dorsey responded tweeting back, “Youāre right. Completely forgot about their background.”
Youāre right. Completely forgot about their background
ā jack (@jack) June 10, 2018
Other people also criticized Dorsey for the tweet.
On behalf of the whole LGBTQ community, Jack, kindly boost your head out of your ass.
ā Adam Goldman (@theadamgoldman) June 10, 2018
Why is Twitter boosting a notoriously anti-gay company during #PrideMonth
and an outspokenly Christian company during #Ramadan?ā Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) June 11, 2018
Please delete this or follow up with how much free advertising you’re going to give GLAAD.
ā EricaJoy (@EricaJoy) June 10, 2018
mmmmm hate chicken never tasted so homophobic.
ā Sarah Burris (@SarahBurris) June 10, 2018
While other Twitter users didn’t think Dorsey should apologize.
Itās a top notch fast food place. With good food & amazing service, that does a lot of good for every community where they have a store located. And trust me if the guy who waited on me yesterday wasnāt transgendered, Iāll eat my shoe. Relax Jack itās just a sandwich.
ā KT RedhairedRose (@kthomas629) June 11, 2018
Their background for making great chicken and treating their customers with respect? That background?
ā Jags Movie Guy (@MoviePaul) June 11, 2018
Which is?
You mean their late CEO being a Christian? Apparently that is something bad/terrible, having faith, running a decent business, never discriminated against anyone, for the “tolerance, acceptance, and inclusivity” crowd.ā R J (@kataandkumite1) June 10, 2018
Virginia
Youngkin calls on gay Va. GOP LG candidate to exit race over alleged ‘porn’ scandal
John Reid denounces ‘fabricated internet lie’ as anti-gay smear campaign

Less than a week after John Reid, the conservative gay radio talk show host from Richmond secured the Republican nomination for the office of lieutenant governor in Virginia, sensational allegations have surfaced, which he strongly denies, that he allegedly posted pornographic photos on social media.
According to the Virginia Mercury newspaper, the allegations surfaced when Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkinās office released a statement saying Youngkin contacted Reid on Friday, April 25, and asked him to withdraw his candidacy over reports that a social media account with Reidās username included āpornographic contentā that was āsharedā with others.
āThe governor was made aware late Thursday of the disturbing online content,ā the Virginia Mercury quotes a Youngkin spokesperson as saying. āFriday morning, in a call with Mr. Reid, the governor asked him to step down as the lt. governor nominee,ā the spokesperson is quoted as saying.
Reid responded to the allegations in an early Friday evening video he posted on his campaignās Facebook page, calling the allegations āa totally fabricated internet lieā motivated by anti-gay bias.
āI can tell you thatās not my account and anyone on the internet can open accounts with the same or similar names as other people,ā he stated in his video. āItās predictable,ā he added.
āBut what I didnāt expect was the governor I have always supported to call and demand my resignation without even showing me the supposed evidence or offering me a chance to respond,ā Reid states in his video.
He said he will not drop out of the lieutenant governorās race and called the allegations against him just the latest in what he said was an ongoing effort by some in the Republican Party, especially conservative Christians, to force him out of politics.
āLetās be honest,ā he said. āitās because Iām openly gay. And I have never backed down to the establishment, and will not,ā he continued in his video message. āWhat happened today is another coordinated assassination attempt against me to force the first openly gay candidate off of a Virginia statewide ticket.ā
Reid added, āItās shameful, and I wonāt back down, even though I know the plan is for the attacks to continue in this overt effort to make me toxic.ā
Reid secured the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor last week after his only rival in the Republican primary, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, dropped out of the race for health reasons.
By securing the nomination Reid became the first known openly gay candidate, Republican or Democrat, to be nominated for a statewide office in Virginia.
In an interview with the Washington Blade earlier this week Reid pointed out that he came out as gay in 1996 or 1997 on National Coming Out Day in his role as TV news anchor in Richmond, where he worked for 10 years.
Following that, Reid worked as a radio talk show host for the next eight years, promoting his ideas as a gay conservative Republican, up until shortly before he announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor, he told the Blade.
Reidās video responding to the accusations against him can be accessed here.
Reidās campaign website and statements he has released to the media acknowledge his status as a gay candidate but point out he has a long record of support for conservative Republican positions on a wide range of issues that are against the positions of most mainline LGBTQ rights organizations.
āIām not a diversity hire,ā he stated in a press release issued at the time he announced his candidacy in January. āIām the most conservative and proven candidate running, and Iāve boldly stood up for our beliefs in a way that should make my personal life a total nonissue,ā he stated.
A statement on his campaign website states āJohn is uniquely positioned to take the fight to the radical progressives head on as he continues his fight against boys in girlsā sports and the extreme trans agenda being forced upon our children.ā
His campaign website statement on transgender issues concludes by saying, āAnd we must be blatant in saying that it is factually impossible for biological men or women to personally decide to change their gender. John believes in the right for grown adults to live their lives as they see fit, but not if they impose restrictions and obligations on others and not if any of their behavior sexualizes or grooms children.
Politics
George Santos sentenced to 87 months in prison for fraud case
Judge: ‘You got elected with your words, most of which were lies.’

Disgraced former Republican congressman George Santos was sentenced to 87 months in prison on Friday, after pleading guilty last year to federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
āMr. Santos, words have consequences,ā said Judge Joanna Seybert of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. āYou got elected with your words, most of which were lies.ā
The first openly gay GOP member of Congress, Santos became a laughing stock after revelations came to light about his extensive history of fabricating and exaggerating details about his life and career.
His colleagues voted in December 2023 to expel him from Congress. An investigation by the U.S. House Ethics Committee found that Santos had used pilfered campaign funds for cosmetic procedures, designer fashion, and OnlyFans.
Federal prosecutors, however, found evidence that “Mr. Santos stole from donors, used his campaign account for personal purchases, inflated his fund-raising numbers, lied about his wealth on congressional documents and committed unemployment fraud,” per the New York Times.
The former congressman told the paper this week that he would not ask for a pardon. Despite Santos’s loyalty to President Donald Trump, the president has made no indication that he would intervene in his legal troubles.
Maryland
A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center
Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump

BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.
So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.
āFāā Donald Trump and fāā the Kennedy Center,ā a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Operaās Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nationās leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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