Infuriated MAGA moaners have dragged their new poster girl, Sydney Sweeney, into the conservative rage over Cracker Barrel’s new logo.
The logo, launched on Tuesday, is text-only, returning to the original logo that accompanied the chain’s launch in 1969. Since 1977, the logo also featured an older man resting on a barrel; however, the new iteration removes both the man and his prop.
On Wednesday, Donald Trump Jr. and conservative YouTuber Benny Johnson helped kickstart MAGA fury over the rebrand, which the company said was rooted in the logo that “started it all”.
Johnson claimed the new logo was “absolutely horrible,” while MAGA-friendly X account Woke War Room blamed Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino for scrapping “a beloved American aesthetic” and replacing it “with sterile, soulless branding.”
The restaurant chain lost almost $100 million in market value as its stock plunged following the reaction to the new logo. In Thursday trading, Cracker Barrel shares fell by 7.2 percent.
Discussion from MAGA circles online soon turned to chatter about Sweeney and bringing her onto the brand following the success with conservatives of her American Eagles jeans advert.
Right-wing podcaster Charlie Kirk posted an unhinged meme on his X account on Thursday that featured two women in denim as a way to compare them to the new and previous Cracker Barrel logos. Sweeney featured in one, while the other was a taunting image of a woman that MAGA trolls have used for the last month. Kirk’s caption read “accurate”.
Meanwhile, Fox News columnist David Marcus posted some advice on X: “Replace the old man in the Cracker Barrel logo with Sydney Sweeney. Problem solved.”
Other MAGA influencers joined in to claim that the 27-year-old star is the only one who can “save” the company.
In July, Euphoria actress Sweeney was embraced by the MAGA community after she faced criticism that the tagline in her American Eagle jeans ad, “great genes”, promoted eugenics.
A string of right-wing voices came out in support of Sweeney when the campaign was slammed on social media. Ted Cruz stated, “Now the crazy Left has come out against beautiful women.”
After documents found Sweeney had listed her party affiliation as Republican when she registered to vote in Florida last year, President Trump weighed in, stating, “If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic!”
The Daily Beast has contacted Cracker Barrel for comment. The chain did not respond to questions on Wednesday.
Fast food chain Steak ’n Shake also weighed into the debate, posting on X on Thursday, “Fire the CEO!” It also quoted Donald Trump’s trademark sign-off, “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
In another post, Steak ‘n Shake claimed Cracker Barrel’s goal was “to delete the personality altogether” by removing the “old-timer” from their logo.
“Heritage is what got Cracker Barrel this far, and now the CEO wants to just scrape it all away,” the chain’s X post read.
“At Steak ’n Shake, we take pride in our history, our families, and American values. All are welcome. We will never market ourselves away from our past in a cheap effort to gain the approval of trend seekers.”
That post was a clarion call to MAGA, with right-wing podcaster and anti-trans activist Riley Gaines sharing the Steak ‘n Shake post, adding, “I know where my husband and I are going to dinner tonight.”
Cracker Barrel CEO Masino said feedback to the changes the chain had made to its image had been “overwhelmingly positive” on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday.
“People like what we’re doing,” Masino said. “Cracker Barrel needs to feel like the Cracker Barrel for today and for tomorrow.”
The company also hired country singer Jordan Davis to appear in a new advertising campaign.
