Exec who ranted about Chick-fil-A’s anti-gay stance is now unemployed, living on food stamps
A former CFO of a medical company says he has been unable to find a job, after a video spread of him online ranting to an employee at anti-gay fast food chain Chick-fil-A .
In 2012 it emerged that the fried chicken company had donated millions of dollars to anti-gay groups including listed hate group the Family Research Council, ‘gay cure’ group Exodus International and Focus on the Family.
CEO Dan Cathy said the company was “guilty as charged” for backing “the biblical definition of a family”.
The same year, a clip spread on YouTube of Adam Mark Smith, who was earning $200,000 a year as the chief financial officer for medical device manufacturer Vante, berating an employee at the store over the anti-gay stance.
In the clip, which has been viewed over a million times, he told a Chick-fil-A employee: “Chick-fil-A is a hateful corporation. It gives money to hate groups.
“I don’t know how you live with yourself and work here, you deserve better.”
In an interview with ABC this week, Mr Smith revealed he had lost several jobs over the incident, his family had lost their home, and nearly three years later they are now living on food stamps.
He said: “I got into work and the receptionist, the first thing, big eyes, ‘Adam, what did you do?’, she said. ‘The voicemail is completely full, and it’s full of bomb threats’.
“I got a call from the CEO, he wanted me to resign.”
Without his income, the family were forced to sell their possessions and move into an RV. A few months later, they moved to Portland when Smith managed to get a job – but he was fired weeks later when his employers found out about the video.
Nearly three years on, he says he still struggles to find work.
He said: “I think people are scared… I think people are scared that it could happen again.
“I don’t regret the stand I took, but I regret the way I talked to her.”
