Cracking Down on Cracker Barrel

Back to Neutral or Be Woke and Broke

Aug 26, 2025

Cracker Barrel, once a cherished symbol of Americana with its rocking chairs and down-home charm, has ignited a firestorm by ditching its iconic white man-and-barrel logo, a move announced on August 18, 2025. CEO Julie Felss Masino defended the redesign, telling Good Morning America, “Cracker Barrel needs to feel like the Cracker Barrel for today and for tomorrow—the things you love are still there. We need people to choose us.” Yet, this rebrand, part of a $700 million overhaul to modernize 660 locations, has been widely panned as a betrayal of the brand’s roots, with shares plummeting over 11% by August 21.

The real story, however, lies in the aggressive LGBT corporate agenda driving this shift, exposing a disconnect from Cracker Barrel’s core customer base.

The company’s ties to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) reveal a calculated pivot. Over the past decade, Cracker Barrel collaborated with HRC, transforming its culture from a 1991 neutral stance —where it fired employees for not exhibiting “normal heterosexual values”—to earning an 80 HRC Corporate Equality Index score in 2021. Former training leader Steve Smotherman, who founded an LGBT employee resource group, even joined HRC’s Business Advisory Council. This shift includes flaunting rainbow-colored rocking chairs during Pride Month, sponsoring the 2024 Nashville Pride Parade, and pulling “Duck Dynasty” products in 2014 over Phil Robertson’s comments. Bragging about high HRC scores, Cracker Barrel markets itself as an inclusive beacon—yet this clashes with its customer reality.

Data paints a stark picture. The LGBT community constitutes just 2.8% of the U.S. population per the CDC, with even lower concentrations in Cracker Barrel’s heartland—rural and suburban areas where 60-70% of its 660 locations thrive. These regions lean heavily conservative, with 55% of Americans identifying as such, valuing traditional Americana over progressive agendas. By embracing what critics call “extreme wokeness,” Cracker Barrel alienates this base, mirroring the Bud Light boycott fallout, where sales dropped 26% after its Dylan Mulvaney campaign. Social media backlash, from Donald Trump Jr.’s “WTF is wrong with @CrackerBarrel??” to calls for a boycott, signals a war on middle America, America First ideals, and family values.

Robby Starbuck’s Take: Cracker Barrel’s Woke Downfall.

Cracker Barrel has gone fully woke, and it’s time to rip the lid off this scandal that goes way beyond a logo redesign! If you’re still eating there, did you know your dollars have been funding all-ages LGBTQ Pride events and pronoun trainings? Check my video for the full explosive story—share it with everyone you know! Here’s the gut punch: Cracker Barrel has bankrolled Nashville Pride and Third River City Pride for years, partnered with the far-left HRC for a decade—bringing their reps to Tennessee HQ for transgenderism training—and even supports child sex changes and men in women’s bathrooms. They’ve worked with Conexión Américas to aid illegal immigrants, sponsored the Out & Equal LGBTQ conference, and handed out “Safe Zone” pamphlets to re-educate staff on “heterosexist” speech. With DEI-obsessed employees and awards like Out & Equal’s 2018 top LGBT ERG, Cracker Barrel is torching its roots—@crackerbarrel must apologize and get back to real Americana.

AGREED!

This isn’t just a logo change—it’s a corporate assault on the brand’s heritage, driven by an HRC-orchestrated agenda that prioritizes a tiny demographic over millions of loyal customers. Cracker Barrel risks destroying itself, proving that woke pandering, not tradition, may be its undoing.