Get PolitiFact in your inbox.
Shown is a Chick-fil-A location in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. (AP)
Chick-fil-A did not ‘just hire’ a vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion
If Your Time is short
- Erick McReynolds has been Chick-fil-A’s vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion since 2021, according to his verified LinkedIn account.
After Target faced calls for boycotts over its Pride clothing collection and Bud Light faced backlash for partnering with a transgender social media influencer, another company is in conservatives’ crosshairs based on what appears to be a misinformed rumor.
Chick-fil-A, a chicken sandwich restaurant chain long known for its conservative Christian leadership, has suddenly embraced diversity, the claim goes.
"We have a problem," read a May 29 tweet that was liked more than 25,000 times. "Chick-Fil-A just hired a VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This is bad. Very bad. I don’t want to have to boycott. Are we going to have to boycott?"
This claim was amplified through other tweets, conservative commentators and news articles, gaining thousands of views and interactions.
The tweet linked in the comments to Chick-fil-A’s page on diversity, equity and inclusion, policies that conservatives frequently characterize as "woke." The page includes a quote from an "Erick McReynolds, VP, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion."
McReynolds is not a new hire. He already had this title when Chick-fil-A published its 2020 and 2021 Corporate Social Responsibility reports.
According to his LinkedIn profile, which is verified through a Chick-fil-A Corporate Support Center work email, McReynolds has been at Chick-fil-A since 2007. The profile said he became the company’s executive director of diversity, equity and inclusion in July 2020, and became vice president of the same unit in November 2021.
Featured Fact-check
An archived copy of Chick-fil-A’s diversity, equity and inclusion page from Sept. 22, 2022, also shows the same title for McReynolds.
Verify also debunked this claim.
Chick-fil-A’s website says the company is committed to "embedding diversity, equity and inclusion in everything we do."
"We intentionally promote equal opportunity through our processes and practices," the website says.
Chick-fil-A did not comment on this claim.
We rate the claim that Chick-fil-A "just hired a VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" False.
RELATED LINK: No, Target is not selling ‘tuck-friendly’ swimwear for kids
RELATED LINK: Anheuser-Busch CEO didn’t resign after Bud Light partnered with Dylan Mulvaney
Our Sources
Tweet, May 29, 2023
Chick-fil-A controversy, accessed May 31, 2023
Tweet, May 30, 2023
Benny Johnson Facebook video, May 31, 2023
New York Post, Chick-fil-A sparks anti-woke outrage for VP of diversity, equity, inclusion post, May 30, 2023
PolitiFact, Was Silicon Valley Bank demise caused by Trump easing regulation, 'woke' efforts, or something else?, March 13, 2023
PolitiFact, What does it mean to be ‘woke’?, March 7, 2023
Chick-fil-A, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, accessed May 31, 2023
Chick-fil-A, 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility report, accessed May 31, 2023
Chick-fil-A, 2021 Corporate Social Responsibility report, accessed May 31, 2023
Erick McReynolds’ LinkedIn profile, accessed May 31, 2023
Wayback Machine, archived copy of Chick-fil-A’s DEI page, Sept. 22, 2022
Verify, No, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion is not a new hire, May 30, 2023
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Loreben Tuquero
Chick-fil-A did not ‘just hire’ a vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.