Suit: Gay couple gets ‘hateful’ fliers instead of wedding programs

Associated Press

BOSTON

Stephen Heasley and Andrew Borg were excited to see the wedding programs they ordered for their big day. But when the package arrived, the gay couple was horrified to instead find religious pamphlets with messages about temptation and sin, according to a federal lawsuit against printing company Vistaprint.

The lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in Massachusetts, accuses Vistaprint of attacking the couple because they’re gay by replacing their wedding program order with the “hateful, discriminatory” pamphlets.

“Our goal is to hold Vistaprint accountable for the harm they have caused, to give a voice to others who may have been similarly victimized, to help prevent this from happening to someone else and to send a message that there will be consequences for acts of hate perpetrated against others,” the couple, who got married in Pennsylvania in September, said.

Vistaprint’s CEO and founder said in a letter to customers Wednesday that it is “incredibly saddened” by the incident and has launched an investigation. The Dutch company, which has a regional headquarters in Massachusetts, reached out to the couple, who lives in Australia.

CEO Trynka Shineman said they’ve determined the couple’s order was filled by a third-party partner and that no Vistaprint employee ever had physical contact with the order.

Vistaprint said late Wednesday it has learned the pamphlets were intended to be printed for another customer.