CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
On this week's Chat Room, Chicago Sun-Times Editor Susanna Negovan and consultant Rochelle Trotter discussed the new face of divorce and the Chick-fil-A controversy.
There seems to be a new face on divorce emerging, as the result of a British billionaire divorcing his wife for Model Elle MacPherson. They still "love and respect" each other, even going so far as to say they remain best friends. Is this reality?
Susanna thinks it is for this particular couple, as he willingly gave his ex-wife half of his £300 million fortune. That surely makes for a happy split.
Rochelle agreed that the wealth played a role, but wondered what will happen when these people remarry. Will their new spouse be in support of this "best friend with ex" stance? They share children, so it's great that they are amicable to each other. But it just doesn't seem like something that will last.
Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy stated his disapproval of gay marriage, sparking controversy in Chicago. Do executives' beliefs on social issues hard the company's brand? Should bigots be banned from doing business in Chicago?
Rochelle thinks he was well within his right to state his opinion - if we don't agree then don't go to the store. However, he should not make it appear that this is a system-wide position. Having worked in the world of franchising, Rochelle stated that oftentimes a franchise completely disagrees with a Corporation's executive in terms of beliefs.
The Chicago franchisee should not bear the brunt of this CEOs opinion. In fact the franchisee has created more than 90 jobs in the Chicago store, has gay people on her payroll and invited the Mayor to meet with her to discuss his opposition to her opening another store. Rochelle thinks the creation of much needed jobs in this economic environment should not be banned. Overall, he should keep his personal opinions out of his business.
Susanna agreed that while the CEO was within his rights to say what he meant, he should not expect it to come without reaction. The whole topic of gay rights and gay marriage is huge and highly debated these days. The CEO should probably have thought twice about coming out with such a statement. If people don't want to support him then they should not go to the stores. The mayor and Alderman can't legally block this franchisee from opening another store, but they can make it quite difficult for her to operate i.e. create zoning issues or the like.
Susanna said this topic will be a major one this election season. As recent as Friday, the Illinois GOP jumped on board and issued a gift card for Chick-fil-A in return for donations to the Republican Party.
Stay tuned for more, as this is definitely not over.
