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Food

Chefs and Celebrities React to Barilla Chairman's Anti-Gay Comments

By  Jimmy Bramlett
Published Sep 25, 2013 11:00 PM
barilla.jpg
Guido Barilla (L) and Nicoletta Barilla (R) arrive at the Julian Schnabel Opening Exhibition on May 31, 2011 in Venice, Italy. Guido Barilla made anti-gay comments to Italian radio on Wednesday. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
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Guido Barilla, the chairman of the world's largest pasta manufacturer, set off a worldwide firestorm with his anti-gay comments in an interview with Radio 24 on Wednesday.

"I would never do (a commercial) with a homosexual family, not for lack of respect but because we don't agree with them," Barilla said. "Ours is a classic family where the woman plays a fundamental role."

In the interview Barilla said he opposed adoption by gay parents but was in favor of gay marriage according to the Reuters story. Also from Reuters: If gays "like our pasta and our advertising, they'll eat our pasta, if they don't like it then they will not eat it and they will eat another brand," he said.

As expected, the reaction has come pouring in. Author of Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook and local food advocate Amelia Saltsman tweeted:

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Food activist and lesbian chef Alli Sosna tweeted:

Other celebrities have also weighed in:

And the memes have started:

Barilla issued an apology on Thursday saying he wanted to highlight the role women play in the family.

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