Baker who refused to serve gay couple cashes in with a book deal about his ‘experience on the front lines’
Jack Phillips appearing on The View in 2017. (The View)
The Colorado baker who became a conservative hero after refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple has landed himself a lucrative book deal.
Jack Phillips, who runs the Masterpiece Cakeshop in suburban Denver, gained national recognition when he refused to serve two men after he realised they wanted the cake to celebrate their wedding.
He cited “religious objections” and claimed that Jesus Christ would actually discriminate against gay people. The couple filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission (CCRC), which ruled that Phillips should not have refused service.
Phillips appealed the decision and the case eventually made its way to the US Supreme Court. After a protracted legal battle, in June 2018 the court ruled 7-2 in favour of Masterpiece Cakeshop.
The court judged that the commission violated Phillips’ ‘religious freedom’ protections under the First Amendment by ordering him to cease discriminating against same-sex couples.
Phillips is now due to release a memoir detailing his experiences, which evangelical Christian publisher Salem Books says will be a “firsthand account of his experience on the front lines” of a cultural battle between religious and secular forces.
The memoir is currently untitled and a publication date has not yet been released.
Rejection of trans customer
While he was in the middle of his Supreme Court battle, Phillips went on to file a separate lawsuit against the CCRC after it ruled that he had discriminated against trans customer, Autumn Scardina.
Scardina asked Phillips to bake her a cake to celebrate her birthday and the first anniversary of her gender transition.
“The woman on the phone did not object to my request for a birthday cake until I told her I was celebrating my transition from male to female,” she wrote in the filing.
“I believe that other people who request birthday cakes get to select the colour and theme of the cake.”
He was handed a second victory when the CCRC was forced to drop its case. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement that both sides agreed “it was not in anyone’s best interest to move forward with these cases.”
