The Food Network pastry chef slams the baker who turned down the lesbian couple, 'For a cake decorator to really feel like he really needed to take a stand...it just makes absolutely no sense.'
- Feb 6, 2013
AceShowbiz - Duff Goldman reached out to an Oregon lesbian couple whose request for a wedding cake was rejected by a bakery owner due to his stance against same-sex marriage. Soon after learning about the news, the "Ace of Cakes" offered a free wedding cake for the soon-to-be-married couple.
"I saw this story and I was like, 'Wait--I can do something, there's injustice involving a cake!' " the pastry chef told Huffpost Live. "For a cake decorator to really feel like he really needed to take a stand...it just makes absolutely no sense." The Food Network star continued, "It's petty, it's small."
The couple made their wedding cake request to "Sweet Cakes by Melissa" in January 2013. Owner Aaron Klein recalled, "My first question is what's the wedding date, and my next question was the bride and groom's name. The girl giggled a little bit and said it's two brides."
The women filed a complaint with Oregon state after the rejection, but Klein insisted he did nothing wrong. He said he just stood up for he believed in. The local baker said he served gay customers in the past with no issues but he had to draw the line when it came to making cakes for gay weddings.
"Regardless of one's religious belief, if you open up a store and you open it up to the public to sell goods, you cannot discriminate in Oregon under our civil rights laws," said Brad Avakian, Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.
"I'm not trying to say that I'm putting my thumb in the face of the law. I agree that there are laws for a reason, but I also believe that we should have religious freedom in this country," he said in response. "It's a situation where I just have to stand up for what is right and if the fine comes, the fine comes and I'll deal with that when it happens."
After the news spread nationwide, Equality Southwest Washington's Wedding Expo offered their free service to marry the couple. "Jazz It-Up Productions", a DJ company in Tigard, also offered play free of charge for the couple's wedding day.
In response, the couple issued a statement saying they're humbled by the outpouring support but they're still not doing any interviews.
