Woolworths in same-sex marriage boycott threat after Roger Corbett’s 7.30 interview

The supermarket giant publicly distances itself from former chief executive Roger Corbett’s advocacy of a No vote.

Influential businessman Roger Corbett speaking out against same-sex marriage in his interview with Leigh Sales last night.

Woolworths has publicly distanced itself from the views of its former chief executive Roger Corbett in the face of a consumer boycott threat prompted by Mr Corbett’s backing of a No vote in the same-sex marriage postal survey.

Mr Corbett, who was Woolworths chief executive between 1999 and 2006 and is a former chairman of Fairfax, spoke out against same-sex marriage in an interview last night on ABC TV’s 7.30.

But the supermarket giant is scrambling to disown Mr Corbett’s comments, using social media to tell angry shoppers that “Mr Corbett is a former employee and his views do not represent Woolworths’’.

Mr Corbett is a former employee and his views do not represent Woolworths. pic.twitter.com/c7EfQ0v1Y4

— Woolworths (@woolworths) September 19, 2017

Woolworths was also quick to remind marriage equality advocates that its teams supported “Wear It Purple Day ... We value diversity and recognise the importance of reflecting various communities.’’

A few weeks ago, our teams supported Wear It Purple Day! We value diversity and recognise the importance of reflecting various communities.

— Woolworths (@woolworths) September 19, 2017

Mr Corbett told Leigh Sales that current marriage laws are not discriminatory in any way and drew comparisons between sex and race which quickly drew criticism from viewers on social media.

“A black man and a white man are equal, but they’re clearly different. A black man will never be a white man and vice versa,’’ Mr Corbett said. “A man and a man and a woman and a woman can have a similar relationship, but it’s different. So to me, and I think to a lot of the community, marriage and the family unit between a man and woman, remains paramount.’’

Since the interview, disgruntled same-sex marriage supporters have used Facebook and other social media platforms to push for a consumer boycott of Woolworths despite Mr Corbett running the company more than 10 years ago.

“Woolworths is closer to home but I won’t shop there again. Wanna know why? Ask Roger,” one person wrote.

“His comments were racist and hurtful and a lot of them were not even valid arguments,” said another.

“You have lost a longtime customer thanks to Roger Corbett’s comments on the 7.30 report tonight,” a shopper wrote.

“I’m watching it now. I can’t believe it. I will never shop there again,” another replied.

#abc730 Re: Roger Corbett. No longer formally with Woolworths but join me. I've spent maybe $50 over the last 10 years there. Boycott them.

— Ross Chambers (@maelduin_ross) September 18, 2017

Faced with the backlash, Woolworths this morning today issued a statement, without directly referencing Mr Corbett’s comments, backing marriage equality.

“We believe marriage equality is not just a social but also a workplace issue. For that reason, we pledged out support for marriage equality in August,’’ the company said.

“We’re proud to embrace diversity and want to be a community where all our people are free to be themselves without fear of prejudice or discrimination. Diversity means recognising and respecting our differences, including religious and political beliefs.’’

pic.twitter.com/itbL3D38bw

— Woolworths (@woolworths) September 19, 2017

Mr Corbett told 7.30 his views were based on a “Judaeo-Christian tradition in society” and insisted marriage was intended to be between a man and woman.

“Much of our law of course is based on that tradition,’’ he said. “So marriage between a man and a woman is very deeply embedded in that area.’’

He said marriage was clearly meant to be between men and women, because together they can create children. “Marriage is really a union to provide an environment in which children can be conceived, born and brought up. It is probably the best arrangement.’’

While Mr Corbett defended his views, stating he had many gay friends and “respects homosexuals,” he believes the marriage rules should not be changed.

“(They) have a perfect right to a union that is exactly equal and should be treated exactly equally in the community,” he said. “But let’s call marriage marriage and let’s find an appropriate name for other relationships.”

The business leader said he believed other prominent Australians had avoided coming out in favour of the no vote for fear of vilification. He also admitted that he was “a little scared” of the public’s response to his comments.

I'm sorry, I'm still processing that Roger Corbett interview. If that wasn't the definition of a trainwreck, I don't know what is. #abc730

— Ivana Kovac Kuti (@IKKsays) September 18, 2017

Not only has Roger Corbett managed to insult every homosexual person, he also just insulted every person of colour. #abc730 #auspol

— Sandra K Eckersley🔹 (@SandraEckersley) September 18, 2017

“I think people are scared that they might be vilified, the Margaret Court example and I might say there has also been the Alan Joyce pie incident which is equally disgraceful ... but I think people are scared of that. Often standing on tradition is less popular.’’

He said the traditional view of marriage he was defending was “more widely recognised in the community than people might think because marriage is a very special building block in this community’’.

“I feel that if you have a particular conviction and you are asked what your conviction is, you don’t have much integrity or courage if you’re not prepared to say so,” he said.