The highly anticipated new Chick-fil-A sauce has been released, but not without its opponents.
In a mostly welcomed surprise, Chick-fil-A has decided to debut a new sauce at select locations, one being their location in the University of Tulsa’s Allen Chapman Student Union. However, their decision has had its opponents. The new sauce is a spicy peanut-based blend called Strait Pride in honor of its origins as a local favorite in northern Morocco near the Strait of Gibraltar. However, critics claim that the name is a subtle reference to the Straight Pride organization in the United States. The organization has denied these claims outright, even going so far as to release this statement:
“Chick-fil-A prides itself on its inclusivity for all of God’s children. At no point did we ever intend to offend anybody with the name of our new sauce; the name never even appeared offensive to us. We do, as a large corporation, concern ourselves with any political issues that affect us economically, usually through supporting tax cuts (so that we may invest more in supporting the Christian middle class, of course!) or ventures that encourage God’s America to “eat mor chikin.” We support everyone’s right to autonomy, even those who risk divine judgment for their actions. God bless you all!”
The statement only seemed to further infuriate critics, but Chick-fil-A has appeared to make no move to remove or rename the sauce, instead tweeting on their official Twitter page “get rekt snowflakes lol.”
Many celebrities and household names have also started speaking out about the polarizing new sauce. Country music star Toby Keith said that he would “always be a fan of Strait Pride, even when it isn’t popular.” When pressed on his favorite food to pair the new sauce with, he was hesitant to answer and eventually stated that he didn’t “eat Chick-fil-A that often,” making his actual opinion on the new sauce seem a little more ambiguous. In contrast, presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke said that Chick-fil- A and their new sauce are a “major oof” and that burger chain Whataburger was “totes the shit” and “way more yeet than Chick-fil- A.” Upon being further pressed to translate his responses out of his 2016 vernacular, O’Rourke called me a “normie” and attempted (and failed) to perform a kick-flip on his skateboard.
The sauce has even gotten the attention of many elected legislators. Some cities have issued outright bans on the sauce while others have sanctioned parades for Strait Pride to show solidarity with the often criticized food chain. The movement to ban the sauce gained particular traction in San Antonio and almost was written into law until the Texas legislature moved to pass the “Strait Pride Protection Act,” which would bar lo- cal governments from preventing Chick-Fil-A from serving the sauce.
Whether Strait Pride will last is still up in the air, but the odds are looking up for the moment. If successful, the sauce will make a full debut on June 1st, 2019 during the “Strait Pride Month of Chicken” promotion. The restaurant has also promised that part of the proceeds from every combo paired with Strait Pride sauce will be donated to Christian Summer Camps for Homosexual Youth, a program sponsored largely by the Mike Pence foundation.