Cracker Barrel Scandal Worsens After Stunning ‘Woke’ Sponsorship Is Uncovered

The screws are tightening for Cracker Barrel less than a day after the company’s ham-handed attempt to address a mushrooming controversy over the redesign of its longtime logo.

Conservative sleuths have uncovered a sponsorship the company made in support of Nashville Pride 2024, the liberal city’s annual LGBT celebration where children were present.

A video recap recirculating on X shows scantily clad men and drag queens dancing in the streets and blowing kisses to the camera. It came one year after Cracker Barrel sponsored the Pride event with rainbow-colored rocking chairs at its Nashville eatery.

Trump advisor Alex Bruesewitz exclaimed, “Cracker Barrel’s leadership is totally clueless! They have no respect for their customers!”

Conservative filmmaker Robby Starbuck drew attention to the video in a viral post that has been viewed more than 70,000 times.

“Does this seem like something their customers want to be sponsoring?” he asked.

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The revelation comes less than a day after the embattled restaurant chain made a mea culpa for its decision to overhaul its longtime logo, removing Uncle Herschel, who was depicted leaning against a barrel on his old-timey porch next to the store’s name.

“If the last few days have shown us anything, it’s how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel. We’re truly grateful for your heartfelt voices,” the company said, according to Fox Business. “You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.”

Dr. Carol Swain, an author and political commentator, quoted the statement, writing on X, “Here is the clueless @CrackerBarrel response. Company executives don’t know how to respond to the magnitude of [the] backlash. When in a hole, just keep digging.”

“It’s time to get your chicken fried steak with biscuits and gravy at a mom and pop place,” conservative talk radio host Andrew Wilkow remarked.

The Federalist founder and CEO Sean Davis wrote, “Day 1: Everyone loves what we are doing. Day 5: Only a ‘vocal minority’ opposes what we are doing. Day 8: We’re sorry you’re not smart enough to appreciate what we’re doing. This is the Cracker Barrel marketing and PR trajectory so far. They’re now in wall-of-text fake apology mode (‘we’re sorry you’re offended, but not really’).”

Cracker Barrel found itself at odds with its fans after removing its beloved logo, introduced in 1977, in favor of a new sign that the company defended as a return to its original 1969 iconography, which did not include the Hershel character.

Kitschy Americana interiors, ubiquitous to the chain’s aesthetic, were removed in favor of a sleek, modern refurbishment. A spokesperson for Cracker Barrel said at the time that the change was supported by customers who had been “overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic about the refreshed dining and shopping experience” and blamed a “vocal minority” for opposing the move.