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The Internet Is Dragging Kanye West’s Song About Chick-fil-A

Shannon Carlin
Last Updated October 28, 2019, 1:59 PM
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images.
Praise be to Chick-fil-A? Kanye West finally dropped Jesus Is King, which includes the song "Closed On Sunday" — and Twitter seems to hate it. Why? Well, the track shouts out the fast-food chain, which, you guessed it, is closed on Sunday. He made this announcement in a video called "Closed On Sunday." Twitter's ire has nothing to do with chicken sandwiches, however. It's about Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy's history of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.
On the track, West sings, "Closed on Sunday / You're my Chick-fil-A," a nod to the Christian belief that the Sabbath is a holy day of rest. It's expressed most clearly in Exodus 20:8:11, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy," a Bible verse that Chick-fil-A cited in its decision to remain closed on Sundays. That's before West seemingly shouts out his order at the fast food joint: "You're my number one, with the lemonade," which, as journalist David Friend pointed out, is "effectively an advertisement for Chick-fil-A."
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While some think the Chick-fil-A mention was just a lame verse, others believe the song is doing something worse by turning Chick-fil-A into an affectionate term for a loved one and downplaying the company's anti-LGBTQ+ stance. "I know y'all don't care about LGBTQ people or canceling him, but don't fuck with me if you still fuck with him," journalist Ernest Owens tweeted. "Call it cancel culture, not hearing "both sides," dismissing dissent, whatever...enough."
Earlier this month, Dana White from the Collective Action for Safe Spaces compared West's lyrics to Donald Trump's anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. "We’re clear on where Chick-fil-A stands and where they put their money when it comes to the human and civil rights of LGBTQ+ folks,” White said in a statement to the New York Daily News. "We’re clear that the Trump administration is currently targeting LGBTQ+ folks. Kanye’s lyrics here are an anti-LGBTQ stance with strategic timing."
There is one song on the 27-minute album, which West was working on right up until he dropped it, that Twitter seems to be happy to get behind: "Follow God." The track before "Closed On Sunday" feels like old Kanye. Even better, it makes no mention of fast food at all.
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