When a lesbian in Washington, D.C., picked up an anniversary cake, she found the bakery had ignored her instructions regarding the wording on the cake and had, instead, scrawled a homophobic message on it.
The Advocate reported that Sarah [she asked that her last name not be used] recently ordered a carrot cake at an Arlington, Va., bakery near her job with the intention of surprising her partner, Lindsay, on their anniversary. The design she picked out from the bakery’s catalog featured balloons on the cake’s top, but Sarah asked that the balloons not be used, and instead include the words “Happy Anniversary Lindsey! Love, Sarah.”
When she picked up the cake, not only did it have balloons, but “Lesbian Anniv. No balloons” was scribbled on it in sloppy handwriting. The cake also was chocolate, not carrot as Sarah requested.
The Advocate reported that Sarah requested to speak to the manager who apologized for the sloppy text but not for its inaccurate, homophobic content. The manager refunded Sarah’s money and offered her a “less sloppy” cake but refused to address the cake’s messaging.
“How could anyone mistake that for something a person would want on a cake?” Sarah asked The Advocate. “And what baker would sell something so messy and unprofessional? When it occurred to me that this was probably an intentional insult to my relationship, I was appalled at the audacity of the cake decorator or baker or whoever was responsible. It’s disappointing to know that when I want to honor the most important person in my life, I have to worry about some intolerant person ruining the surprise I had planned.”
