Politics
NEW: Conservative Activist Exposes Cracker Barrel’s Promotion Of Left-Wing Ideologies
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck — who has developed a reputation for exposing embrace of left-wing ideologies at major companies — posted a blistering takedown of the restaurant chain Cracker Barrel as the company is reeling over a wildly unpopular rebrand.
Starbuck, who has gotten a number of companies, including John Deere, Harley Davidson, Tractor Supply and more to abandon left-wing ideologies with his reports, described Cracker Barrel’s logo makeover as going from “old American nostalgia” to something “cold, dead, lifeless and modern” in a 15-minute video takedown.
He further noted that while the company has long leaned into heritage American branding, Cracker Barrel is “infested with left-wing activists who are more interested in safe spaces, pronouns and virtue signaling than they are in their customers.”
The conservative activist highlighted the company’s support for LGBT organizations and events, such as Nashville Pride, River City Pride and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Fox News reported. He also noted that the company displayed rocking chairs decorated with LGBT pride logos at select locations, as well as its corporate office in Tennessee.
“The fact that it’s located there is important to this story because what’s happened here is a microcosm of the parasitic operating procedure of left-wing activists,” Starbuck said. “They don’t just wanna force their soulless, godless, hedonistic vision of the future onto blue hellscapes that their party controls.
“No, it’s much more important to them that they shove it down into your towns, into your kids’ schools and into your way of life. So, sticking a pro-trans rocking chair into their headquarters in a predominantly conservative town is exactly the type of thing they revel in doing.”
Starbuck then pointed to the company’s participation in the Out and Equal Workplace Summit. During a conference for the event, Cracker Barrel made rocking chairs in every color of the rainbow, representing the LGBT flag.
Out and Equal ultimately presented Cracker Barrel with an award for having 2018’s top LGBT Employee Resource Group (ERG).
The restaurant chain previously participated in HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, which measures “corporate policies, practices, and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer employees,” according to the organization’s website. Companies are awarded scores based on how inclusive HRC judged them to be towards LGBT employees.
In a statement to Fox News, Cracker Barrel noted that it “has not participated in the Human Rights Campaign Index or had any affiliation with HRC in several years.”
Meet the VP of Marketing Communications at Cracker Barrel. Any questions? Their HQ is filled with woke activists who won’t ever understand their actual customers. Brand destruction 101. pic.twitter.com/n7bsrHw27i
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 23, 2025
Starbuck’s expose comes as the company seeks to rebound from a massive drop in valuation fueled by intense public backlash to its rebranding efforts.
In recent weeks, the company has started the process of rapidly overhauling its interior design. Many of the unique artifacts and props have been removed from the dining rooms in favor of scaled down decorations limited to walls.
The company has also redesigned its tables and dining areas to become more in line with modern fast food chains, a move critics have said is cutting down on the company’s appeal. Despite the backlash, Cracker Barrel chief marketing officer Sarah Moore has defended the rebrand. “This is also centered on making our stores easier to operate,” Moore said back in May.
The backlash reached a fever pitch on Tuesday, when the company announced that it would be doing away with its iconic logo in favor of a scaled-down version. The iconic image of a man, dressed as an old school general store owner, sitting next to a barrel has been axed in favor of generic font.
Company executives have defended the rebrand by claiming it was based on customer feedback.
