Answer from McDonalds

McDonalds has replied to my email, which I posted on my site earlier this week:

Hello Theo:

Thank you for contacting McDonald's. We appreciate this opportunity to share some information with you.

As we've said all along, McDonald's stands by and supports our people. Diversity and inclusion are integral components of our brand and our heritage.

We continue to have strong employee networks throughout our company and will continue to align our brand with individuals and organizations that share our belief in supporting our people and the communities we serve.

Regarding Richard Ellis, he made a personal decision to step down from the Board of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce after he accepted a new position earlier this year with McDonald's Restaurants of Canada, Limited.

At McDonald's, we continue to value and respect everyone.

Thank you for sharing your personal point of view on this topic with us.

Jennifer
McDonald's Customer Response Center

This sounds pretty reasonable. Looks like the AFA has put a spin on the news in order to make it sound like McDonalds was giving in to their pressures.