Pastor Who Accused Whole Foods of Writing Gay Slur on Cake Apologizes

As far as plot twists go, this story out of Texas really takes the cake: the pastor who accused an Austin Whole Foods of writing "fag" on a cake he ordered has withdrawn his lawsuit against the company and issued an apology, KXAN reports.

"Today I am dismissing my lawsuit against Whole Foods Market. The company did nothing wrong. I was wrong to pursue this matter and use the media to perpetuate this story," Jordan Brown said in an email. 

I want to apologize to Whole Foods and its team members for questioning the company's commitment to its values, and especially the bakery associate who I understand was put in a terrible position because of my actions. I apologize to the LGBT community for diverting attention from real issues.

Back in April, Brown, who is pastor and founder at the Church of Open Doors, tweeted out a photo of a cake with "Love Wins Fag" written on it in frosting, writing, "That's not the cake I ordered, @WholeFoods and I am offended for myself & the entire #LGBT community."

That week, Brown filed a lawsuit against the company "for intentional infliction of emotion distress," a spokeswoman for Whole Foods said. 

But the company responded with a statement saying that their bakery team member had written only "Love Wins," as requested, replete with security footage showing Brown purchasing the cake. In the footage, the label was on the top of the cake box — but in Brown's photo that he tweeted, it had been moved, suggesting that the cake had been altered after purchase.

The company said in April that it planned to "take legal action against both Mr. Brown and his attorney." But after Brown's apology, the company said it will drop the counter-suit, reports KXAN.

"We're very pleased that the truth has come to light," a Whole Foods representative said. "Given Mr. Brown's apology and public admission that his story was a complete fabrication, we see no reason to move forward with our counter suit."