According to The Washington Post, Buffalo Wild Wings is being sued for false advertising, with the argument being boneless wings are not buffalo wings and shouldn't be priced as such. The lawsuit comes from Aimlen Halim, a Chicago man claiming he ordered boneless wings and was served pieces of chicken breast meat battered and fried —aka chicken nuggets parading around as boneless wings.
Buffalo Wild Wings clapped back at the lawsuit, admitting that boneless wings aren't buffalo wings at all. "It's true," the brand tweeted, "Our boneless wings are all white meat chicken. Our hamburgers contain no ham. Our buffalo wings are 0% buffalo."
Wing-enthusiasts and BWW fans were quick to comment on the tweet: "Then don't call them wings," said @RobEno. "Tryna be @Wendys over here with the subtle suit shade. We see you," said @MattPieper.
It’s true.
— Buffalo Wild Wings (@BWWings) March 13, 2023
Our boneless wings are all white meat chicken.
Our hamburgers contain no ham.
Our buffalo wings are 0% buffalo.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time major chain restaurants have been subjected to such lawsuits. Back in December, T.G.I. Friday's endured a lawsuit from a woman claiming that her mozzarella stick snacks ordered via Amazon contained cheddar, not mozzarella. In 2021, Subway was rocked by scandalous news breaking that their tuna didn't actually have any tuna in it.
Halim, the plaintiff filing the lawsuit against Buffalo Wild Wings, claimed "the Products are not wings at all, but instead, slices of chicken breast meat deep-fried like wings. Indeed, the Products are more akin, in composition, to a chicken nugget rather than a chicken wing." He is suing for damages and injunction relief. The lawsuit also has this to say: “In this time of high-flying wing prices, ‘boneless’ branding is emerging as a viable solution for processors desperate to push their record-low-priced white meat, and for retailers who can’t afford the real (‘traditional’) thing."
One of the biggest deciding factors of this case will revolve around Halim claiming to be unaware of what boneless wings actually entail. "Unbeknownst to Plaintiff and other consumers, the Products are not wings at all, but instead, slices of chicken breast meat deep-fried like wings," the suit claimed. Are these claims viable or deniable? That's up to the courts to decide.
With inflation ravaging the country, the fight for fair pricing and advertising is reaching new heights. Buffalo Wild Wings has yet to make any further comments regarding the lawsuit.
Let's hope their defense team doesn't just wing it in court. Too soon?
