Is Conservative Favorite Chick-fil-A Next On the Right’s Boycott List?

It’s been a turbulent few weeks for many major businesses, with boycotts causing sales to plummet amidst “pride month” products and advertisements alienating large swaths of the consumer population. A company nobody would think would be in the crosshairs of conservatives has now found itself on the list of possible boycott-worthy companies.

The beloved Chick-fil-A may find itself no longer in the good graces of the Christian right of the country after a hiring decision resurfaced from 2021. That’s right, the company that brings you the best nuggets in town with that dream-worthy sauce has a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department.

What you might not have known is that this once-believed staunch supporter of traditional family values and quality customer service has bent the knee to the left for years. 

The DEI Spread

An announcement initially made in 2021 by Chick-fil-A resurfaced this week about promoting Erick McReynolds to Vice President of the company’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department. However, Mr. McReynolds is not a new hire, as some believed this week, having worked for the fast food company since 2007 in various positions, including within the DEI department.

On the company’s website, they declare the adherence to DEI principles using somewhat nebulous language, such as the below generic statement found on most corporate websites:

“Chick-fil-A, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

They go on to explain their hiring practices:

“We make employment decisions on a non-discriminatory basis and remain committed to maintaining work environments free from any form of harassment.”

Mr. McReynold’s statement when he was initially promoted to his current position was equally as vague:

“We are committed to ensuring mutual respect, understanding, and dignity everywhere we do business.”

Hiring practices that are non-discriminatory and making sure people can work in safe places free from harassment is a pretty standard business practice that doesn’t need to have anything to do with D, E, or I. So why have a department with left-wing taglines if they aren’t necessary?

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Appeasing The Masses

While long held as the bastion of Christian values and conservative principles, this favorite chicken chain is known for quietly adjusting its principles to keep the seas of public discourse tranquil. Former CEO Dan Cathy rocked the boat over his opposition to same-sex marriage.

When the left threatened to boycott the chain in 2019, the chicken giant quietly stopped donating to organizations that oppose same-sex marriages, such as The Salvation Army, The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Paul Anderson Youth Home. And more recently, they disgusted anyone with tastebuds that work with their attempt at a cauliflower sandwich – arguably their worst crime yet.

So is this DEI office yet another attempt to pacify the liberal consumers? First, let’s look at how the values of Chick-fil-A align with that of DEI.

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According to their website:

“One of our core values at Chick-fil-A, Inc. is that we are better together. When we combine our unique backgrounds and experiences with a culture of belonging, we can discover new ways to strengthen the quality of care we deliver: to customers, to the communities we serve, and to the world.”

That sounds good and nice because it’s filled with empty platitudes and fluff – much like the Democratic Party. But will this be enough to cost Chick-fil-A in the long run?

Business Model Test

The re-release of this hiring news led to predictable outrage on Twitter, with conservative strategist Joey Mannarino polling his audience on if there should be a boycott of the loved chain. The poll had a surprising result, with 47% in favor of a boycott and 52.4% against a boycott.

The threat of a boycott might not be enough for Chick-fil-A to change its course too much, given that it has withstood boycott after boycott from the left. After all, this is the same company that is closed on Sundays. Yet, every other day of any week, there is always a line of cars inching through the drive-thru to get a delicious chicken snack.

When you have a solid business model, you should be able to weather most market issues. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Bud Light, who saw a 30% dip in sales after their poorly orchestrated promotion of transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

And we can’t forget Target, which has lost $10 billion in 10 days over its LBGTQ-friendly children’s clothing line. While these boycotts seem to have made a dent overall, the conservative section of this country isn’t as good at executing them as the left.

Senator Ted Cruz explained in a recent interview related to boycotting Disney:

“You can be annoyed at Disney but if your kids really want to go to Disney World, that can be hard to say no to. There are not a lot of alternatives. There’s Six Flags but Disney World is a pretty unique offering.”

I don’t know, Ted; if you can’t say no to your kids going to Disney World after the recent spotting of a mustached-clad man wearing a dress and makeup posed as a Fairy Godmother in the park, you might not be as dedicated to common sense and decency as you may claim.

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The Pot Of Gold

June is easily one of my least favorite months. As a fan of things that inherently make one smile, I used to love rainbows, but come June, the saturation of Pride Month-related rainbow stuff is nauseating and has me wanting to adopt a more monochrome style.

Below is a small list of companies with Pride Month/LGBTQ-related merchandise:

• Converse
• Nike
• Sephora
• New Balance
• Williams-Sonoma
• Crocs
• Pottery Barn
• The North Face

The most idiotic one is Skittles, which literally has had a rainbow as its marketing conduit since the beginning. My favorite sport, baseball, has also hitched itself to the LGBTQ Pride train, with the Los Angeles Dodgers inviting, disinviting, and then re-inviting the drag group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to perform in their bastardized nun habits. 

The “Sisters” dress in drag as nuns and have events like “Hunky Jesus” on Easter each year. Imagine if, instead of Catholics, they were drag queens dressed as Hassidic Jews or Muslim Clerics… that would be an outrage.

Then, of course, there is the outdoor adventure brand The North Face which released an ad featuring the drag queen Pattie Gonia who, while dressed in a rainbow dress in the wilderness with a mustache, encourages you to “come out” in the wilderness. Ironically the brand captions the ad with “Nature lets you be who you are.”

I’m not sure when mountains started caring about climbers’ sexual organs, but then I’ve never climbed a mountain.

The truth is these companies will never stop pandering to the Pride Monster unless their bottom line is affected…because right now, they believe there is a pot of virtue-signaling gold at the end of that Pride Rainbow.