"Woka Woka!" Jim Henson Company Tells Chick-fil-A Good-Bye

The Jim Henson Company, the company responsible for The Muppets, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock, on Friday told Chick-fil-A that it would be severing ties to the restaurant. The chicken chain is already under fire for their stance on same-sex marriage. The Jim Henson Company had been working with Chick-fil-A on creating products for kids' meals. When Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy stated he and his company is "guilty as charged," the Henson Co. nixed it's partnership with the billion-dollar chain.

On Friday, July 20, the following statement was posted on its Facebook:

“The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over 50 years and we have notified Chick-fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors. Lisa Henson, our CEO, is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-fil-A to GLAAD”

The Jim Henson Company is the latest in a string of public officials denouncing Chick-fil-A. Actor Ed Helms (of The Office, The Hangover, and The Hangover Part II) has expressed his distaste for the organization. 5-time Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald (Carousel, Ragtime, and Porgy and Bess), recently tweeted, "Not that I ate much Chick-fil-A before but I sho nuff don't have an appetite for it now."

Probably most significantly was the support of current Boston mayor, Thomas Menino. In an interview in The Boston Herald, Menino vowed to block the chain from opening up shop in his city, promising to make it extremely difficult for the company to procure the required licenses. He says, “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston...You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion.”

Former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee, has expressed his support of the chicken restaurants, and has declared August 1st, "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day." On his Facebook page, he states, "Too often, those on the left make corporate statements to show support for same sex marriage, abortion, or profanity, but if Christians affirm traditional values, we're considered homophobic, fundamentalists, hate-mongers, and intolerant."

We as a group should ask the other companies that partner with Chick-fil-A to pull products as well. This would include: Oreo, Hershey's, Coca-Cola, Buddy Fruits, Sargento, Royal Cup, Tetley, Dr. Pepper, Welch's, Heinz, Dart Styrofoam (Cups), Del Monte, Sunkist, Dixie Crystals, Splenda, French's, Texas Pete, Tabasco, Kraft, Mello Smello, and many others.