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American fast-food restaurant chain Chick fil A started receiving some backlash online on May 30, 2023, for hiring a Vice President under their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program. Netizens debated that the DEI program, which would supposedly advocate for trans and queer people, would directly clash with the restaurant’s values.
Conservatives were immediately at the restaurant’s throat upon suddenly finding out about the DEI program. It's unclear what led them to stumble upon the information out of the blue, however, it started circulating on Twitter, leading right-wingers and those with anti-LGBTQ sentiments to slam the company and even call for a boycott.
The information was seemingly shared by Twitter user Joey Mannarino, who called this whole thing a "problem" and labeled it as "bad".
Another user wrote that Chick fil A was going to be contacted by customers regarding the matter and will "repent" this decision "soon."
Video of Chick fil A's CEO resurfaces amidst DEI controversy
In the wake of the DEI controversy, some people brought back the viral video of Chick fil A’s CEO Dan Cathy, who was seen shining the shoes of a Black man on stage in an attempt to make a point about repentance and shame.
Back in June 2020, while discussing the topic of repentance at a round table discussion at Atlanta’s Passion City Church, Dan got up and knelt beside Lecrae, a Black Christian rapper. He then took out a shoe-shine brush and started shining Lecrae’s shoes, saying that the world needs to have a sense of embarrassment, shame, and an apologetic heart. The CEO said:
"I invite folks to just, to put some words to action here. And if we need to find somebody that needs to have their shoe shined, we need to just go right on over, and shine their shoes."
This particular video also sparked widespread outrage on social media.
The Chick fil A restaurant chain attributes its philosophy to Christian values. The founder of the company, Truett Cathy, and other executives previously used to hold weekly devotionals in the company’s headquarters, which was non-mandatory. Their website states:
"From the beginning, Truett based his business on Biblical principles that he believed were also good business principles, and since 1982, our Corporate Purpose has guided all that we do."
The restaurant also does not open on Sundays, as it is considered a Church day among Christian devotees.
However, these factors were brought into question when conservatives discovered that the company had a DEI program. They started alleging that this program solely means that the company supports the LGBTQ+ community, in contradiction with Christian values.
Eric McReynolds has been the VP of Chick fil A for two years
It was also brought to light by some Twitter users that the VP of the DEI program at Chick fil A, Eric McReynolds, has been in the company for more than 16 years and joined the DEI program as its Executive Director in July 2020. He was promoted to the Vice President of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion program in November 2021.
The sudden outrage against the VP could be due to the recent wave of anti-LGBTQ drive that started with the Bud Light controversy.
