Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores, an American chain restaurant based in Lebanon, Tennessee, has come under criticism from conservatives after sharing a Facebook post celebrating Pride Month.
The restaurant, which is known for its menu of traditional southern foods and its country-style decor, with the interior resembling an old-fashioned general store, surprised many of its conservative fans by supporting the LGBTQ community.
In their post, the restaurant chain said they are “excited to celebrate Pride Month with our employees and guests,” and invited customers to enjoy their limited-edition rainbow-colored rockers, adding: “Everyone is always welcome at our table.”
Many staunch conservatives on Facebook and Twitter responded to the message of acceptance with anger and hate.
Texas Family Project, an anti-LGBTQ group tweeted that “Cracker Barrel has fallen. A once family-friendly establishment has caved to the mob.” The phrase “Cracker Barrel has fallen” went viral on the social media platform shortly afterwards.
We take no pleasure in reporting that @CrackerBarrel has fallen.
— Texas Family Project (@FamilyProjectTX) June 8, 2023
“Cracker Barrel, why do you hate your patrons? How did you come to despise your consumer base?” another Twitter user replied. “You have lost your mind if you think the thousands of people who drive out of their way to eat your middling food want this. Never again. No more bus loads for you.”
Cracker Barrel, why do you hate your patrons? How did you come to despise your consumer base? You have lost your mind if you think the thousands of people who drive out of their way to eat your middling food want this.
— Shelby Foote Appreciator⚓️ (@NoJesuitTricks) June 9, 2023
But many of the negative responses to the restaurant’s inclusivity were met with support from other Twitter users, proud of the company’s willingness to be accepting.
“Honestly, if your bigoted movement can’t even win over the f*****g Cracker Barrel it’s probably time to pack up and go home,” Twitter user Ari Drennen replied.
The post in support of Pride Month marks a departure from Cracker Barrel’s early history, when the company issued an internal memo calling for employees to be dismissed if they did not display “normal heterosexual values,” which allegedly led to the firing of at least 11 gay employees at various stores throughout the South.
For 10 years, starting in 1992, the company’s shareholders repeatedly voted down efforts to add sexual orientation to the company’s nondiscrimination policy. The restaurant chain was also criticized by LGBTQ groups for lacking inclusive health and partner benefits throughout much of the first two decades of the 21st century.
In 2019, after adopting many policy changes, the company earned an “80” on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, which serves as a benchmarking tool on corporations’ pro-LGBTQ policies, practices, and benefits. It has continued to boast a score of 80 in subsequent years, including on the most recent index.
This show of support also potentially comes with risk to the company, as other major corporations like Budweiser and Target have experienced financial backlash and calls for boycotts after embracing the LGBTQ community in different ways. In Bud Light’s case, a partnership with a transgender TikTok influencer for a social media post was the incendiary event, while Target was forced to remove some of its Pride-themed merchandise from store shelves after employees were accosted or threatened with violence by anti-LGBTQ protesters.
A Michigan state representative suggested on Monday that the government make same-sex marriage against the law.
State Rep. Josh Schriver (R-Oxford) took to X, writing, "Make gay marriage illegal again. This is not remotely controversial, nor extreme."
Make gay marriage illegal again.
This is not remotely controversial, nor extreme.
— Rep. Josh Schriver (@JoshuaSchriver) December 2, 2024
Michigan Republicans, buoyed by Donald Trump's electoral victory in their state, won back control of the State House of Representatives and will take power in January.
A gay teacher in Oregon was awarded $90,000 as part of a lawsuit alleging she was subjected to a hostile work environment and retaliated against for her support of LGBTQ students.
Eileen Brennock, a Spanish teacher at Mountain View Middle School, in Newberg, Oregon, claimed that the school's former principal, Terry McElligot, told staff at a meeting on September 10, 2021, that "it's not okay to tell kids it's okay to be gay or trans."
McElligot also reportedly told teachers not to display any Pride or "Black Lives Matter" flags or insignia to avoid "pok the bear."
A dozen Moscow clubgoers have been found guilty of "petty hooliganism" and detained following recent raids of nightclubs by Russian security forces.
The nightclub patrons were arrested on Saturday, Nov. 30, and in the early morning hours of Sunday, Dec. 1, at three separate venues -- Arma, Inferno, and Mono -- as part of an effort to "combat LGBT propaganda," according to a statement government officials gave to TASS, the Russian state-run news agency.
Videos and images of the raids were shared on social media. Videos from Arma showed patrons sitting on the dance floor while riot police walked around shouting orders, reported The Moscow Times.
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