As Tone Deaf reported this morning, KFC decided to celebrate Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett’s recent Grammy nomination by taking to their official Facebook page and plugging one of their burgers to their almost 40 million followers.
“Sometimes I sit and eat KFC and sometimes I just sit. Congrats courtney barnett on Grammy nomination,” the post read, a take on the songwriter’s J Award-winning debut album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit.
It’s great the fast-food giant wanted to show their support for homegrown music, but as we noted, we’re not sure Barnett would be inclined to “sit and eat KFC”, even sometimes. As the critically acclaimed singer has repeatedly stated, she’s a vegetarian.
“I’ve been vegetarian since I was 18, but I didn’t really ever eat meat. I eat fish but not other meat,” Barnett told the Sydney Morning Herald back in March. In other words, it’s unlikely she’d be feasting on a Zinger backstage after a show.
Sure enough, we were right. Barnett herself has responded to KFC’s post, taking to her official Instagram page to share a screenshot of the post and explaining that she’s never eaten a KFC burger, even when she wasn’t a vego.
“I haven’t eaten chicken since I was 18, and when I did eat chicken, i don’t think I ever once ate a KFC chicken burger ever,” Barnett wrote, suggesting KFC might want to be a little more careful about choosing artists whose ethos is actually aligned with their brand when plugging their products.
As we reported earlier this week, respected Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalists Xavier Rudd is currently in hot water with his fans after his song ‘Let Me Be’ was featured in KFC’s latest commercial.
Rudd is a known vegetarian who’s spoken out about animal rights issues in interviews, having been named Australia’s Sexiest Vegetarian by PETA in 2008 and receiving the 2009 ‘Rock the Boat Award’ for his support of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
The commercial debuted last month, immediately triggering a wave of criticism towards the singer. “Please tell me you didn’t sell rights to let me be to be played on the KFC ad… BIG downfall,” wrote one disappointed fan.
