Black Conspiracy Theory 101: Did Chick-fil-A’s President Say ‘We Don’t Like Blacks Either’?

In June 2012, fast-food chain Chick-fil-A was placed in an extremely unfavorable light following a series of public comments made by its chief operating officer and son of the company’s founder, Dan Cathy, who vehemently opposed same-sex marriage. Gay civil rights activists called for a protest of the chicken eatery, while staunch anti-gay-rights supporters stood behind the company, boosting Chick-fil-A’s sales. In August 2012, the company’s sales went through the roof, after its supporters staged a “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.  Not long after the incredible sales boon, the Free Wood Press published an article stating that, according to a senior level manager, Cathy had concocted a controversial marketing ploy that involved Blacks because “bigotry and hatred are extremely profitable” in this country — which just like his anti-gay stance — would also increase the company’s bottom line. But is it true?

Since Chick-fil-A has a strong Southern customer base, Cathy reportedly saw dollar signs with his anti-Blacks stance, and according to the Free Wood Press, he stated the following:

Let’s milk this for all its worth. Let’s wait until this gay thing dies down a little, then I will release another statement that says that we don’t like Blacks either. Now, they’re protected by those stupid discrimination laws so we’ll need to be careful, but I think it will work. I mean, hey, it’s not like it’s a lie. We’ll have another Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day before you know it!

The article then went further by alleging that they had confronted Cathy and he had this to say:

We are a private company with a deeply personal belief system. We are lucky to live in a country where we are allowed to practice those beliefs. We abide by all of the discrimination laws and we welcome colored folk in our restaurants. I even hire them to work in my restaurants. We do not discriminate against anyone because of their color. However, if I’m being honest, we really don’t care for them. That is my opinion and I have a right to express it.

The news outlet then alleged that Cathy had even baser aspirations in the near future: down the line, Cathy planned to focus on “liberals and people of Asian, Hispanic and Arabic descent.”

According to the paper, since there is a lot of hate in the U.S.A., Cathy planned to “milk” every last drop.”

Not surprisingly, the alleged Cathy racial bias crusade against Blacks and other minorities spread like wildfire via the media: Those who came across the scandalous news about Cathy’s alleged latest marketing scheme were left seething, due to the likelihood  that southern racists would back his company’s biases all the way.

But Cathy never made such incendiary comments about Blacks or any other minority group, because the alleged news report was, in fact,  just a bad joke.