Burger King is continuing its trend of progressive advocacy with a new marketing and fundraising scheme. Last week on Twitter, the fast-food giant announced a new initiative to donate 40 cents to the pro-LGBTQ Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for every “Ch’King” sandwich sold until June 30. The Ch’King, which was introduced just for Pride Month and sells for $3.99, was originally announced by Burger King on May 19.
the #ChKing says LGBTQ+ rights!
— Burger King (@BurgerKing) June 4, 2021
during #pride month (even on Sundays ??) your chicken sandwich craving can do good! we are making a donation* to @HRC for every Ch'King sold ??????
*6/3-6/30 with every Ch'King sold, BK will contribute 40? to the Human Rights Campaign (Max. donation $250k)
— Burger King (@BurgerKing) June 4, 2021
Also included in Burger King’s tweet: the phrase “even on Sundays,” complete with the shifty eyes emoji. Clearly, these words are intended for Chick-fil-A, a major competitor of Burger King.
Predictably, Twitter users were quick to call out Burger King from both the right and left. The jab at Chick-fil-A led conservatives to affirm their support for “God’s chicken,” while woke progressives attacked Burger King for not donating enough to the HRC. The Ch’King initiative has a cap of $250,000, meaning that the company will have to sell 625,000 chicken sandwiches to meet its goal.
This won't make your food taste any better or your services improve. @ChickfilA still wins! #ChickfilAtastesbetter
— JD (@wsabee) June 8, 2021
You can do a lot better than $250k. That’s pocket change to your corporation.
— Hours Left (@HoursLeft) June 7, 2021
You wanna be there for the LGBT+ community? Put your real money where your mouth is, and don’t just do performative charity in June. Show your support all year, every year.
The HRC has repeatedly demonstrated it cares more for leftist partisanship than human rights. After the 2020 election, the group published its “Blueprint for LGBTQ Equality Under Biden,” a document containing 85 individual policy recommendations that sought to push the Democratic party deeper to the left. And just last week, the HRC announced its intent to sue the state of Florida after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act to prevent biological males from competing in female athletic divisions.
The Ch’King campaign marks the second time that Burger King has made waves on Twitter this year. Back in March, the company received widespread backlash for tweeting “Women belong in the kitchen” in support of International Women’s Day. Though Burger King was actually announcing its “Helping Equalize Restaurants” (HER) scholarship fund to support women attending culinary schools, the tweet was widely misinterpreted and subsequently deleted.
