Anti-woke activist Robby Starbuck has released a pointed video criticizing Cracker Barrel’s leadership, arguing that the restaurant’s recent logo and decor changes reflect a long-term shift toward far-left policies at the expense of its traditional middle-America customer base.
Starbuck, known for challenging major companies such as John Deere, Target, and Harley-Davidson over what he describes as “woke” practices, described Cracker Barrel’s new logo as moving from “old American nostalgia” to a “cold, dead, lifeless and modern” design in a 15-minute video. He argued that while Cracker Barrel is traditionally associated with American heritage, the company has been “infested with left-wing activists more interested in safe spaces, pronouns and virtue signaling than their customers.”
In the video, Starbuck highlighted Cracker Barrel’s involvement with LGBTQ+ organizations and events, including Nashville Pride, River City Pride, and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). He also noted that the chain displayed rainbow-colored rocking chairs and LGBTQ+ insignia, including one in its Tennessee corporate office—a symbolic gesture given the brand’s association with rocking chairs across its nationwide locations.
“The fact that it’s located there is important to this story because it reflects the operating procedure of left-wing activists,” Starbuck said. “They aim to impose their vision not just in liberal areas, but directly into towns, schools, and communities. Placing a pro-trans rocking chair in their headquarters in a largely conservative town is exactly the kind of act they relish.”
Starbuck also referenced Cracker Barrel’s work with HRC and participation in the Out and Equal Workplace Summit, where the company created rocking chairs in every color of the LGBTQ+ flag. The summit recognized Cracker Barrel for having 2018’s top LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group (ERG).
The restaurant previously participated in HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, which evaluates corporate policies, practices, and benefits for LGBTQ+ employees. Cracker Barrel told Fox News Digital that it “has not participated in the Human Rights Campaign Index or had any affiliation with HRC in several years.”
Two employees—Steve Smotherman and Rachel CampBell—were singled out in Starbuck’s video. Smotherman, formerly head of management training and development at Cracker Barrel for 15 years, now serves on HRC’s Business Advisory Council in Washington, D.C. Starbuck called Smotherman “the archetype activist employee that fueled the rise of DEI in corporate America” and criticized CampBell for expressing public support for the rainbow pride rocking chairs.
“Employees like these play a critical role in steering companies away from their customers’ values and toward wokeness,” Starbuck said.
Starbuck also referenced Gilbert Dávila, a member of Cracker Barrel’s board since 2020 and co-CEO of DMI Consulting, asserting that Dávila and others were responsible for the company’s recent “woke advertising push.”
Ultimately, Starbuck emphasized that the debate around Cracker Barrel’s logo is more than a branding issue. “This is not about a logo—it is about a country, heritage, and culture,” he said. “It is about a power structure aiming to portray certain values as backward or bigoted. Conservatives and Christians cannot support Cracker Barrel under these circumstances.”
Starbuck suggested that the controversy could be a conservative win, asserting that the company will either double down on its new direction and risk losing customers, or revert to its 1977 logo to retain its loyal base.
