Offensive posts by owner of popular Louisville restaurants spark anger in LGBTQ community

Two memes posted on Facebook by an owner of several well-known Louisville restaurants have sparked outrage among the city's LGBTQ community and a call for a boycott.

The images were posted online earlier this week on the personal Facebook page of Fernando Martinez, one of the owners of Louisville's Olé Restaurant Group. The posts questioned the sexual orientation of Paul Pelosi, the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and made light of a recent assault at his California home that left him hospitalized with a skull fracture.

A screen grab of the images was published on Louisville's Reddit page Thursday, drawing an avalanche of attention from many people in the city who deemed the posts offensive. They drew an especially strong reaction from several pro-LGBTQ individuals and organizations, including the Derby City Sisters, which bills itself as "a group of radical fun loving Nuns whose mission is to raise funds and spread JOY throughout the LGBTQ Community of Louisville," and Spencer Jenkins, who leads the Queer Kentucky advocacy group.

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In a statement to The Courier Journal, Martinez said the posts were a political joke and were not intended to hurt the LGBTQ community.

"The simple statement of me being homophobic would mean to not love and support my son, and not only my son, several close friends and members of my work family," Martinez said in the statement. "I have always been a champion of being who you are as a person whether it involves race, sexual orientation, and/or sexual preference and always someone that has said be proud of who you are."

Still, several LGBTQ advocates said the posts crossed a line.

Sister Petty Davis – the leader or self-described "Abbess" of Derby City Sisters – said the images were "offensive" and "dangerous" given the current political climate and the hate that gay people, people of color, Jewish people and immigrants often face.

Martinez's group, which he runs with his brother Yaniel Martinez, owns several popular restaurants and restaurant chains in the Louisville area, including Taco Luchador, Steak & Bourbon, Guacamole, Señora Arepa and La Bodeguita de Mima.

Davis said he has dined at Martinez's restaurants many times, but will not go again. He started a petition – on his own, he said, and not in partnership with the Derby City Sisters – to call for a "boycott" of the restaurants.

"Let him know you will not be supporting his businesses due to his insistence on spreading hate," the online petition, which had 135 signees as of Friday evening, said.

"There are many other great places in this wonderful city and we don't need that kind of hate in our fantastic food scene," Davis told The Courier Journal.

Jenkins, Queer Kentucky's founder and executive director, said the issue is "complex" and affects more people than the man behind the posts.

"(T)he people that work for these people shouldn’t be penalized due to their bosses political views, but people should also know what political ideology their money is fueling," Jenkins told The Courier Journal in a Facebook message.

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Pelosi was attacked at his home on Oct. 28 and was released from the hospital Thursday after undergoing surgery for a skull fracture he sustained in the assault.

The suspect in that case, David DePape, is accused of attacking Pelosi at his home with a hammer while searching for his wife, a divisive national political figure. DePape is currently in custody at the San Francisco County Jail and is facing several charges, including attempted murder, burglary and elder abuse. He faces between 13 years and life in prison if convicted.

Reporters from USA TODAY contributed. Reach reporter Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez at abrinez@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville restaurant owner's Paul Pelosi posts harm LGBTQ community