Homophobic lesbian anniversary cake
WHAT should have been a simple surprise anniversary for an American lesbian couple has turned into an act of homophobia from one bakery in Arlington, Virginia.
It was meant to be a simple carrot cake that was ordered from the bakery’s catalog with the a request for the balloons to be removed from the original cake design, and the message “Happy Anniversary Lindsey! Love, Sarah” iced on top.
However, it turned out to be a chocolate cake, with the balloons still a part of the design, and a messy message written with icing that read: “Lesbian Anniv. No Ballons”.
Sarah, the woman who ordered the cake, told US magazine The Advocate that she had opened the cake inside the shop, then immediately asked to speak with a manager upon seeing the message.
She said that the manager apologised for the sloppy text but not for its inaccurate, homophobic content.
According to the report, he refunded Sarah’s money and offered her a “less sloppy” cake but refused to address the cake’s messaging, even when she pressed the issue.
Sarah said she declined the owner’s offer for a new cake, and planned to eat the cake anyway when she and her partner celebrate their anniversary.
“How could anyone mistake that for something a person would want on a cake?” Sarah told The Advocate.
“And what baker would sell something so messy and unprofessional? When it occurred to me that this was probably an intentional insult to my relationship, I was appalled at the audacity of the cake decorator or baker or whoever was responsible.
“It’s disappointing to know that when I want to honour the most important person in my life, I have to worry about some intolerant person ruining the surprise I had planned.”
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY LINDSEY AND SARAH! Cheers and best wishes for a wonderful new year!
I can’t believe some people have tried to blame the anti-gay message on
something other than the fact that it was meant to be hurtful. Even if it was a mistake by a non-English speaking employee, the manager had the opportunity to make things right when the patron brought the cake to his attention. He felt that the text was messy but refused to give her a new cake with the CORRECT message — the one that she’s paid for. No matter which way you slice it, they dropped the ball.
i’ love to know which bakery….i think we should all flood the bakeries website with inquires for it’s ‘Lavish Cakes and Designs’ and hopefully melt down their server/website…. and send them a message they will remember… I hope Sarah and Lindsey get a beautiful Cake to truly celebrate their anniversary with x
Does no one ever visit the website ? I would bet money this is simply an error, where a non-English speaking worker transcribed the decorating notes, rather than the message. (The website above is dedicated to examples of this and other hilarious mix ups; they’re super common in the US.) Honestly, if the bakery wanted to put a homophobic message on, couldn’t they have come up with something meaner… and less like a transcription of notes?
The real scandal, I think, is publishing this story with no attempt to fact check. This story could quite easily lead to the bakery going bankrupt. (People will figure out which bakery it is, and already dozens of news sites have published it, with not one bothering to phone for clarification.) There are abundant cases of genuine retail discrimination against LGBTQ, but if I’m right, the lack of due diligence here has hurt an innocent party.
Will there be a follow up story?
Cake wrecks was the website I was referring to.
what? she still ate the cake?
bad enough to eat it,, but WHAT she paid for it?
Slam the cake onto that ignorant fool’s face
I would have slammed that cake in the managers face.
even if english not first language and message confused does not explain the dreadful messy work and the last letter not even in same line. disgusting
Cake should never be used to cause hurt.