An opinion piece published on MSNBC drew buckets of mockery as social media users reacted to the idea that “Red Lobster’s downfall hits differently for Black communities.”
The piece, written by Robyn Autry, a sociology professor and director of the Center for the Study of Public Life at Wesleyan University, sparked quick reactions on X where users rolled their collective eyes.
If you were making a parody of MSNBC, what would you do differently than what the network already produces? pic.twitter.com/PL5x7W0cLY
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 22, 2024
Red Lobster announced it would be closing dozens of restaurant locations following its filing for bankruptcy. The seafood chain’s demise is seen as another casualty of the post-COVID era and of President Joe BIden’s crippling economy, along with its own disastrous “endless shrimp” marketing, Autry chose to look at things through race-colored glasses.
“Bill Darden opened the first Red Lobster restaurant south of Orlando, Florida, in 1968 just a few weeks before Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated,” the piece explained right out of the gate.
“Black consumers are among the most loyal. Sure, we like fish and a good deal — Red Lobster represented something like the strip mall version of the beloved fish fry — but we like being treated equally even more,” the op-ed continues.
I’m imagining every on-air host at MSNBC reading this headline and starting to think this could be a Veep-like tv show.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 22, 2024
“Black Americans’ taste for Red Lobster followed economic trends, as working- and middle-class diners opted for the pricier $25-$30-per-person casual dining experience over fast-food seafood options like Captain D’s and Long John Silver’s,” the piece noted.
“The restaurant became strongly associated with Black people celebrating special occasions,” Autry wrote, adding that “the chain became one of those Black culture things that people could relate to as it expanded.”
The mockery on X was brutal:
Imagine Chris Hayes peering over his glasses and intoning: “Why Red Lobster’s downfall hits differently for Black communities”
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 22, 2024
What’s great about this genre is that they could just as easily write an article that the fall of Red Lobster is a blow against white privilege.
— AmishDude (@TheAmishDude) May 22, 2024
Black people aren’t going to date you, MSNBC.
— Grateful Calvin (@shoveitjack) May 22, 2024
— Edward (@edwardrussl) May 22, 2024
Funnier than the Onion
— BitsAndAtoms (@BitsOrAtoms) May 22, 2024
“Say ‘Buffet Lovers Matter.’ SAY IT!” https://t.co/JhTFha1HBq pic.twitter.com/tWFFuX9aIL
— Hollaria Briden, Esq. (@HollyBriden) May 22, 2024
If you don’t like red lobster you ain’t black
— Andrew Dice Hardy (@eli14881745) May 22, 2024
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Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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