Chili's Cancels Fundraising Event For Controversial Anti-Vaccine Charity
In honor of National Autism Awareness Month, Chili's had planned to donate 10% of customers' checks from 1,200 restaurants to the National Autism Association.
The restaurant chain told The Huffington Post that it decided to cancel today's event following negative feedback from guests.
The National Autism Association writes that vaccinations can trigger or exacerbate autism in "some, if not many, children" on its website.
The charity also sponsors "Age of Autism," a website which has the text "Yes, Vaccines Cause Autism" on its masthead.
These views go against the Centers for Disease Control and much of the scientific community.
The restaurant plans to find another way to support autism, the spokesperson told HuffPo.
"We believe autism awareness continues to be an important cause to our guests and team members, and we will find another way to support this worthy effort in the future with again our sole intention being to help families affected by autism," the spokesperson said.