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Commentary: Chick-fil-A on the defensive again after anti-gay marriage tweet

Dan Cathy, president and COO, tweets his disapproval over the Supreme Court ruling, conjuring up a controversery that had all-but gone away for the chain.

June 27, 2013 by Alicia Kelso — Editor, QSRWeb.com

By Alicia Kelso

Advocates for gay marriage rejoiced Wednesday after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and allow the legitimacy of same-sex marriages in California. Not everyone was cheering for the decision, however, including — and unsurprisingly — Chick-fil-A's president and COO Dan Cathy.

Reports surfaced early Thursday that Cathy tweeted the following response to the DOMA ruling: "Sad day for our nation; founding fathers would be ashamed of our gen. to abandon wisdom of the ages re: cornerstone of strong societies."

The tweet was deleted shortly after it was posted. It is, however, still available on Topsy, an online platform that can index web content. It's been captured for posterity whether Chick-fil-A wants it to be or not.

Gay marriage proponents immediately took to Chick-fil-A's social media sites to express their discontent with Cathy's tweet, a very familiar story that has played out time and time again with this brand. Cathy has come under fire from gay rights advocates before, notably last summer after disclosing to the Baptist Press that he is "guilty as charged" in supporting organizations that are considered by many to be anti-gay. He added that he supports the "biblical definition of the family," and that Chick-fil-A will "stay the course" even though it "might not be popular with everyone."

Chick-fil-A later backtracked on Cathy's comments and announced it was ceasing its donations to the aforementioned organizations. Since then, the chain's position on the issue has been murky at best, with some claiming that the donations have continued, while the company itself has released statements about its inclusiveness, including, yes, on the basis of sexual orientation.

Chick-fil-A's service model is often seen as a standard in the QSR segment, but the brand's perception took a big hit late last summer after Cathy's comments were published. Things finally cooled down in the late fall and had all-but gone away entirely.

Then Cathy's tweet popped up this week and the company is once again defending itself. Chick-fil-A released a statement late this afternoon in reponse to Cathy's tweet that read in full:

"Yesterday, President and COO of Chick-fil-A Dan Cathy tweeted a personal comment upon hearing the Supreme Court decisions on DOMA and Prop 8. Dan recognizes his views do not necessarily represent the views of all Chick-fil-A customers, restaurant owners and employees, so he removed the tweet to eliminate any confusion ... At Chick-fil-A, we are focused on providing great-tasting food and genuine hospitality to everyone."

At some point, you have to hold those in power just as accountable for igniting controversy as those working the front lines. Most QSR employees are now held to social media standards, guidelines and training. A few, unfortunately, disregard such training (standing in lettuce bins, licking taco shells), but those employees are quickly sent packing.

Right now, a slight majority of Americans support gay marriage. And even if that wasn't the case, I bet an even larger majority just want to be fed a good sandwich, not political opinions. Let's hope Cathy receives some training on how to stay on the chicken topic.

Alicia Kelso is the senior editor of QSRweb.com.

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