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Two Gay Men Take Fatburger Way Too Seriously
Worth Repeating has a story about how two gay dudes from West Hollywood got all uppity about a Fatburger poster. Here is an email from one of the gay dudes describing the events:
LAist would like to add more to this article, but the dude nailed it. And we think he is really good at writing in the 3rd person.
When West Hollywood-based spouses and screenwriting team David A. Lee and Daniel Vaillancourt walked by their neighborhood Fatburger restaurant on Sunday January 14, 2007, they were shocked to see a poster introducing the company's new Baby Fat Deal in the window. Its tag line read: "It’s for women, children and the occasional girly-man." The pair -- who feel that the homophobic and misogynistic slogan (made famous by unapologetic California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger) would be offensive in any city, but especially so in the bastion of gay pride that is WeHo -- went to Fatburger's corporate web site and lodged a written complaint. "We basically told them that this ad campaign is an insult to the LGBT community, and that until it was discontinued we would not patronize Fatburger," says Lee. Adds Vaillancourt: "That was a hard promise to make, because Fatburger is our hands-down favorite. But we meant business."
Lee and Vaillancourt didn't have to stay away for long. Within 24 hours, the couple received a written apology from the company, a "thank you" for pointing out the faux-pas, and a promise that every "girly-man" poster nationwide would immediately be taken down.
The grassroots activism left a great taste in the men’s mouths. Not that they’re strangers to causing a commotion. In 2004, Lee (a former Continental Airlines flight attendant) took on his past employer when it refused to honor its contractual agreement to provide spousal travel benefits to Vaillancourt, whom he had married in Vancouver, Canada. The couple won.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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