Chick-fil-A's decision to hire a vice president of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has led some prominent conservative influencers and organizations to call for a national boycott.
It comes after news of the fast-food chain's hiring of Erick McReynolds, who has led the company's DEI department since 2020, finally reached certain corners of conservative social media circles on Twitter.
On Chick-fil-A's website detailing its DEI commitments, the company says it hopes to promote equal access to opportunities, value differences, and create an inclusive company culture.
Several groups the company has supported or helped kickstart are also listed on the site, including Women in Business, Black Employee Resource Group, Young Professionals, and the Chick-fil-A Green Team.
"Chick-fil-A restaurants have long been recognized as a place where people know they will be treated well," McReynolds says in a statement visible on the site.
"Modeling care for others starts in the restaurant, and we are committed to ensuring mutual respect, understanding and dignity everywhere we do business," it continued. "These tenets are good business practice and crucial to fulfilling our Corporate Purpose."
But conservatives who have long considered Chick-fil-A an ally due to its Christian commitment and opposition to certain aspects of the LGBTQ+ movement called out the company this week.
"Ok, y'all so what is the consensus… are we boycotting Chick-Fil-A over this or no?" conservative influencer Joey Mannarino asked his Twitter following in a poll.
With over 94,000 votes as of Tuesday evening, nearly half of the poll's respondents said they supported a company boycott. However, it is unclear how many are actually conservatives since the tweet went viral.
"Why do companies care more about their DEI score than their customers and their own brand's VALUES??" asked Jenna Ellis, a onetime attorney to former President Donald Trump, on her Twitter account. "@ChickfilA needs to walk this back, ASAP."