An Austin Texas pastor who claimed that a prankster at his local Whole Foods Market store had decorated his cake with an anti-gay pejorative is now the target of a lawsuit. Pastor Jordan Brown of the Church of Open Doors made news when he filed a lawsuit against the grocery chain over claims that he discovered that the word “FAG” had been written on his purchase. While early stories were dominated by Brown and his wailing about insensitive hate crimes the tale didn’t quite pass the smell test – why didn’t he look at the cake when he picked it up like most folks would be inclined to do? Now, after further investigation Whole Foods has filed a countersuit against pastor Brown – who by the way just happens to be a homosexual – who appears to have staged it all.

The Washington Post reports on the latest development in the story “Did this gay pastor fake a cake with an anti-gay decoration? Whole Foods thinks so”:

Anyone who has paid a visit to the Whole Foods flagship store in Austin, knows the location is the gem in the pricey grocery chain’s organic crown. As one reviewer once put it: “The 80,000-square-foot market, bar, eatery, makeup counter and pick-up joint (we suspect) makes our local branches look like the neighborhood 7-11.”

But one visitor to the Austin location says he was not so enthusiastic about a recent trip. An openly gay pastor in the city where Whole Foods was founded has filed a lawsuit against the chain, claiming it sold him a cake that read “Love Wins F-g.”

But commenters on social media wondered why the pastor didn’t immediately notice the anti-gay slur, accusing him of altering the cake, as did Whole Foods, which countersued, claiming that the pastor made “fraudulent” accusations.

In a video posted last week, Jordan Brown of Austin’s Church of Open Doors said he ordered a cake from Whole Foods meant to read “Love Wins” — a slogan associated with the movement to legalize same-sex marriage. But when he picked up the cake April 14, it had a quite different message, he said.

“When I got into my vehicle, I looked inside and saw they had wrote ‘Love Wins F-g’ on it,” Brown said, holding a receipt he said was from the cake. “You can see it nice and clear. Also, it is still in a sealed box. As you see, I have not opened up this box yet.”

But after a review of the store surveillance system footage as well as an internal investigation the chain nipped Brown’s scam in the bud. According to the WAPO:

Whole Foods, founded in Austin in 1980, first denied writing the message.

“The team member wrote ‘Love Wins’ at the top of the cake as requested by the guest and that’s exactly how the cake was packaged and sold at the store,” the company said in a statement. “Our team members do not accept or design bakery orders that include language or images that are offensive. Whole Foods Market has a zero tolerance policy for discrimination. We stand behind our bakery team member, who is part of the LGBTQ community, and the additional team members from the store, who confirmed the cake was decorated with only the message ‘Love Wins.’”

Then it announced Tuesday that it is countersuing Jordan and his counsel, as the Statesman newspaper noted. The suit claimed Brown “intentionally, knowingly and falsely accused Whole Foods and its employees of writing the homophobic slur … on a custom made cake that he ordered from WFM’s Lamar Store in Austin.”

“After a deeper investigation of Mr. Brown’s claim, we believe his accusations are fraudulent and we intend to take legal action against both Mr. Brown and his attorney,” the company wrote in a statement.

Not only is lying about the cake behavior that isn’t very Christian but this whole sorry saga only serves to undermine those who truly are victims of discrimination. If it turns out that pastor Brown is indeed fibbing to get publicity and play the persecuted victim then the courts should take it out of his mangy hide.