Burger King is showing support towards LGBTQ+ causes during Pride Month in a big way, tying their new chicken sandwich to donations the chain will give.
For the entire month of June, every purchase of a new Burger King Ch'King sandwich will send 40 cents from the chain's coffers to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization in the United States.
*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
Burger King made the announcement with a light jab at fast food rival Chick-fil-A, saying they will have the promotion available "even on Sundays."
Chick-fil-A, notorious for being closed on Sundays, has been tied to multiple anti-LGBTQ controversies. Chick-fil-A owner Dan Cathy has made contributions as recently as this year to the National Christian Charitable Foundation, an organization attempting to derail the Equality Act currently sitting in Congress, according to Esquire.
Of course, Chick-fil-A itself has stopped making similar charitable donations since late 2019, but the owner does reap the profits of the fried chicken business, and those could easily convert to the aforementioned contributions.
me: rainbow capitalism bad
— AnneMarie Rogers ?️? (@PineapplesToGo) June 8, 2021
also me: ordering 30 burger king chicken to own the homophobes https://t.co/5OCoDuEwa7
It is known across the fast food industry that employees of companies, as well as CEOs of the drive-thru empires, do make several political contributions to political action committees (PACs) and other organizations that lobby and fight for causes. However, the corporations themselves do not make these donations.
In Burger King's case, their larger parent company, 3G Capital, donated just $20 in 2020, all of which went to the Republican National Committee, as reported by OpenSecrets. Employee contributions overwhelmingly favored more progressive organizations, which may be part of why Burger King is running this current promotion.
Donating to an amazing LGBTQ+ organization and throwing some serious shade?!?! Love this tweet! ? I might actually head to Burger King this month. Happy #PRIDE https://t.co/YPvs6nFqqe
— Jen Smith Palmer (@jensmithpalmer) June 8, 2021
Burger King's reason for donating to the HRC, according to an email sent to USA Today, is that "[The LGBTQ+ community] is a community we love dearly and have proudly supported over the years, so we couldn’t miss an opportunity to take action and help shine a light on the important conversation happening."
