Man Sues Bakery over Hot Cross Buns

Media Release

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In what is thought to be a world-first, an atheist has filed a legal complaint against a Local Bakery for the sale of Hot Cross Buns at Easter.

John Densmore of Sydney, Australia has brought legal action against Cute Buns Bakery on High Street for failing to provide a cross-less hot cross bun for people who do not celebrate Easter.

At a press conference called yesterday, Mr Densmore said:

“I am bringing this action because I am sick of being bombarded by religious propaganda. My family has never celebrated Easter and the cross of Christ is not only insignificant to me but also offensive. As a law abiding atheist is it too much to ask for a cross-less hot bun from the bakery?”

In NSW it is against the law to discriminate on the basis of race, sex, homosexuality or ethno-religious background. However, the move by Mr Densmore has angered many Christians and worried many bakers:

“Hot cross buns are one of the biggest sale items for bakeries in the weeks leading up to and after Easter”, said the President of Bakeries Unions Australia, Mr Bob Guette. “Many bakeries could simply crumble under the added pressure of making cross-less buns. If the courts have any common sense left, this cooked up complaint should be thrown out of court at the first opportunity”

While Mr Densmore’s primary ground is on religious discrimination, further compensation is being sought on the grounds of false advertising:

“After I was forced to buy a hot cross bun, I was quite surprised by its temperature. It was not hot at all. I didn’t want to buy a hot cross bun, but I would never have bought a cold cross bun”, said Mr Densmore.

When questioned as to whether he could have simply reheated the bun in the microwave, Mr Densmore responded that it was the principle of the matter.

Cute Buns Bakery has refused to comment on the pending legal action. The next court date is 22 April 2013. The full written submissions and grounds of appeal are available here.