'It's a free country... sell your shares': Starbucks CEO blasts shareholder who told him that company's support for gay marriage was hitting profits

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz defended the coffee company's support of gay marriage at a stockholders meeting in Seattle this week.

During the business meeting, shareholder Tom Strobhar, who advocates against same-sex marriage through the Corporate Morality Action Center, said he was unhappy that Schultz has used the company to support gay marriage and claimed it had impacted the stock price.

'It’s a free country. You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company,' Schultz told the discontented stakeholder at the event on Wednesday.



Coffee: Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz at the company's annual shareholders meeting, Wednesday in Seattle

Schultz has long been an advocate for gay rights and stated last year that the company would endorse a same-sex marriage bill in Washington state.

The move caused a stir among conservatives and opponents to gay marriage, prompting the National Organization for Marriage's decision to boycott Starbucks.

Mr Strobhar brought up the boycott at the Wednesday gathering, claiming that it had led to a lower yield.



'In the first full quarter after this boycott was announced, our sales and our earnings — shall we say politely — were a bit disappointing,' said Strobhar.

Mr Strobhar sounded off against Starbucks' stance in support of gay marriage

The shareholder made his remark after the board was given approval by a vote to make political contributions, with board members saying they wanted flexibility to promote the company’s policy agenda.



The CEO told the shareholder that the company was committed to embracing diversity.



'It is not an economic decision,' he said.



'The lens in which we are making that decision is through the lens of our people. We employ over 200,000 people in this company, and we want to embrace diversity.'

His comments prompted cheers and applause from the gathered stockholders and then the CEO offered the discontented stockholder a way out.

