In 2013 the owner of Barilla, Guido Barilla, made controversial remarks about being for traditional family values and not gays. In a few hours Twitter had hundreds of messages protesting the company. This made the brand Barilla one of the top topics. Many messages called for a boycott of all the company's products. Guido later apologized by saying, “I apologise if my words generated misunderstandings or arguments, or if they offended the sensibilities of some people. In the interview I simply wished to underline the central role the woman plays within the family.”