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You can't please everyone in order to displease no-one.
"I wouldn't do an ad with a homosexual family not because I disrespect gays - they have their right to do whatever they want without disturbing others - but because I don't think like them and I think that the family we try to address is anyway a classic family," he added.
Asked what effect his attitude would have on gay consumers of pasta, Mr Barilla said: "Well, if they like our pasta and our message they will eat it; if they don't like it and they don't like what we say they will … eat another."
Italian gay-rights organisations quickly called for a boycott.
"We accept his invitation to not eat his pasta," said Aurelio Mancuso, president of gay-rights group Equality Italia.
An apology by Guido Barilla for his remarks for gay rights activists was too little, too late.
"With reference to remarks made yesterday to an Italian radio program, I apologise if my words have generated controversy or misunderstanding, or if they hurt someone's sensitivity," Guido Barilla said in a statement.
"In the interview I simply wished to underline the central role the woman plays within the family."
"For clarity, I would like to point out that: - I have the utmost respect for anyone, without distinction of any kind," he added.
"I have the utmost respect for gay people and for everyone's right to express themselves.
His comment about advertising was in response to a direct question about whether he would ever feature a gay family in his company's commercials.
If gays "like our pasta and our advertising, they'll eat our pasta, if they don't like it then they won't eat it and they can eat another brand," he said.
Then the pasta magnate upped the ante by attacking gay adoption.
Ours is a traditional family. If gays don't like it, they can always eat another brand of pasta. "In the interview I simply wished to underline the central role the woman plays within the family."
Gay marriage is not legal in Italy.
He added, "For clarity, I would like to point out that:- I have the utmost respect for anyone, without distinction of any kind.
- I have the utmost respect for gay people and for everyone's right to express themselves.
I've also said -- and I would like to reiterate -- that I respect gay marriages.
"In its advertising, Barilla represents the family - because it's what welcomes everyone and what has always been identified with our brand."
Gay marriage is not legal in Italy.
The controversy quickly spread internationally via Twitter, where the hashtags #boicottabarilla and #boycottbarillaprompted numerous tweets.
GLAAD, an advocacy group for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, launched a petition asking US supermarket chains to stop carrying Barilla products.
"These comments are unacceptable and you should be concerned that this man's brand lives on your shelves.
Barilla said that the company’s advertisements featured “the concept of the sacred family.”
“Ours is a classic family where the woman plays a fundamental role,” Barilla said.
Did Barilla Pasta's Chairman Make Anti-Gay Remarks?
The chairman of the Barilla pasta brand once proclaimed he would never use homosexual couples in his advertisements.
The chairman of the Barilla pasta brand once said he would never use homosexual couples in his advertisements.
Day, Michael. "Italian Pasta Baron's Anti-Gay Comment Prompts Boycott Call." Reuters.
26 September 2013. "Pasta Firm Barilla Boycotted Over 'Classic Family' Remarks." The Guardian. I've also said -- and I would like to reiterate -- that I respect gay marriages.
- In its advertising, Barilla represents the family - because it's what welcomes everyone and what has always been identified with our brand."
Privately held Barilla Group says the company was created in 1877 and owns 30 production sites around the world and exports to more than 100 countries.
Its brands include Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Voiello, Pavesi, Academia Barilla, Wasa, Harrys in France and Russia; Misko in Greece; Filiz in Turkey; and Yemina e Vesta in Mexico.
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Gays can eat another pasta: Barilla chairman
Gay rights activists in Italy and in the US have launched a boycott of world leading pasta maker Barilla, after its chairman said he would not show gay families in the firm's ads, and if people objected to that, they should feel free to eat a different kind of pasta.
Guido Barilla, who, with his two brothers, runs the family-owned firm founded in 1877, was asked in a interview with Radio 24, if adverts for his company would ever feature a gay family.
"We have a slightly different culture," he replied.
"For us, the concept of sacred family remains one of the fundamental values of the company.
Scherer, Steve. Everyone is free to do what they want, provided it doesn’t bother anyone else":
Barilla — one of the best known pasta brands around the world — is one of Italy's biggest advertisers, and for many years has used the image of a happy family living in an idealised version of the Italian countryside, with the slogan: "Where there's Barilla, there's home."
"I would never do (a commercial) with a homosexual family, not for lack of respect but because we don't agree with them.
"Barilla Pasta Brand Faces Boycott After Boss's Comments Spark Backlash." The Independent. If gays like our pasta and our communication, they will eat our pasta. If gays didn’t like it, he added, they could eat something else.
But in a sign of how toxic it has become for a company to be viewed as unfriendly toward gays, Barilla has made a dramatic turnaround in the space of one year, expanding health benefits for transgender workers and their families, contributing money to gay rights causes, and featuring a lesbian couple on a promotional Web site.
Guido Barilla issued multiple video apologies in the wake of the scandal.
26, 2013 — -- The president of Barilla is apologizing for saying that he would never use a gay family in the pasta maker's ads.
Guido Barilla said in an Italian radio interview that his pasta is for the traditional family and said gay people could eat another pasta if they did not like his message.
"We accept his invitation to not eat his pasta," said Aurelio Mancuso, president of gay-rights group Equality Italia, in a statement in Italian.
Boycotting Twitter users shared the hashtag #boicottabarilla, or "boycott Barilla."
But Barilla quickly walked back his comments.
"With reference to remarks made yesterday to an Italian radio program, I apologize if my words have generated controversy or misunderstanding, or if they hurt someone's sensitivity," Guido Barilla said in a statement.