Masterpiece Cakeshop’s Yelp Page Slammed in Wake of Supreme Court Decision

The lengthy Supreme Court battle over a Colorado baker’s refusal to make a same-sex wedding cake came to an end on Monday with a 7-2 vote ruling in favor of the bakery. Yesterday’s decision reversed a prior decision which ruled that government protections against discrimination outweighed fundamental freedoms — including religious freedom — guaranteed by the First Amendment. As news of the decision spreads, people have taken to Masterpiece Cakeshop’s Yelp page to vent their feelings on the verdict.

The bakery has been hit with a barrage of one-star reviews: Visitors to Masterpiece’s Yelp page are now met with an “Active Cleanup Alert” noting that “This business recently made waves in the news, which often means that people come to this page to post their reactions... we will ultimately remove reviews that appear to be motivated more by the news coverage itself than by the reviewer’s own customer experience with the business.”

While some at least pretend to have tried Masterpiece’s baked goods (one review claims “the cakes are dry, the flavors unpleasant, and the decorations lifeless, similar to the owner’s heart”), others skip any such pretense and directly address the bakery’s politics, accusing it of promoting bigotry and hatred.

Meanwhile, members of the culinary world are assembling their own backlash to the SCOTUS verdict. In a new video posted to TMZ, Oprah’s former chef and Top Chef Masters star Art Smith is asking bakers from the LGBTQ community to “unite.” In the video, Smith, a longtime chef and champion of gay rights — who also once worked for Republican Jeb Bush — says, “I want every LGBT baker in America to start baking cake — a lot of cake — and... I want them to just welcome people for the fact that they love cake, simple as that, and don’t give a rat’s ass about what they worship or what they do.”

Smith also took to Twitter to share a photo of his own wedding cake, the handiwork of celebrity baker Duff Goldman, who chimed in with his own support:

Meanwhile, yesterday in Colorado, supporters showed up to the Lakewood bakery to extend well wishes to owner Jack Phillips. Phillips is making the New York media rounds today in the wake of the verdict, telling Today that he doesn’t “discriminate” against anybody but doesn’t want to bake cakes “for every message,” and claiming that he would also decline to bake a cake that insulted the LGBTQ community.

• Masterpiece Cakeshop [Yelp]
• Oprah’s Former Personal Chef Calls on Bakers to Unite After Supreme Court Vote [TMZ]
• Masterpiece Cakeshop Sees Well-Wishers After Supreme Court Ruling [Eater Denver]
• Baker Wins Supreme Court LGBTQ Wedding Cake Case [E]