Dan Cathy clucked with the wrong YouTuber.
By Brandon Voss
After gaining Internet notoriety by faking phone conversations with controversial celebrities like Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, and Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Randy Rainbow continues to shake ’n bake the blogosphere with his latest video, “Randy Rainbow Works at Chick-fil-A.” The NYC-based YouTube comedy sensation channels a flame-broiled Chick-fil-A employee on “Chicken Pride Day,” gabbing with Chick-fil-A COO Dan Cathy and the clucker chain’s right wing supporters Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, and Mike Huckabee. We grill Rainbow about the spicy response he’s received since the clip went viral.
Gay.net: You've been in the business of fake-chatting with celebrities since your video “Randy Rainbow Is Dating Mel Gibson” blew up in summer 2010. Why drag Chick-fil-A into the mix?
Randy Rainbow: Well, this was right up my alley from the start. Controversial, gay, political, fried chicken — it was a no-brainer for me. And since I started doing this back when Mel first came into my life, there are certain things I think my followers expect me to cover. It's like the Bat-Signal goes off when certain news stories break and I am called to duty.
Due to the polarizing nature of the subject matter, have responses to this video have been more heated than usual? I imagine that’s a risk when you target someone with a devoted religious following like you have in the past with Kirk Cameron.
The comments have definitely been more heated on this one. Because the video hit big, it's reaching a more mainstream audience, so I'm hearing from a broader variety of people. That inevitably includes a few “crazies.” I find it funny that anyone would become heated over any of my videos, because while some have controversial subject matter like this one, they're really not aggressively preachy one way or the other. While it's evident that I’m a gay man, and therefore it’s clear which side of the controversy I'm most likely on, I'm not really waving a flag for my team so much as simply commenting on the bigger picture and painting it in a comedic light. People who really “get it” can see that. If I have any message, it's to find the humor in these things. My main intention is to make people laugh, because I think comedy is universal and has the power to transcend politics and religion. If everyone who watched could check their passion or anger at the door and just have a chuckle, then all sides have been united, if only for a few minutes, and I have, in essence, saved the world.
I deeply want to believe that some chain restaurants in the heart of gay ’hoods like Chelsea or WeHo operate much like your colorful vision of Chick-fil-A. Have you heard from any gay food service employees who support this fantasy?
I actually haven't heard from any Chelsea chain gays — is that a new categay-ry? — that I'm aware of, but I would encourage them to model their service style exactly after my version. Every fast food establishment, in my opinion, should have a welcome song and tiaras for hard-working employees.
Gathering from your Twitter feed, you're a man who really loves to pig out on fatty, high-calorie food. Has the gay community’s Chick-fil-A boycott been especially hard on you?
Honestly, I've never been a Chick-fil-A man myself. Even though I've always heard friends talk about how scrumptious it is or lose their shit because there weren't any local franchises in their areas, I just never got into it. Though I will admit that when the controversy first hit, I did have some anxiety and intrusive thoughts about what might happen if one day I were really hung over and stranded in a town that only served Chick-fil-A.
If you really did get him on the phone, what would you say to Dan Cathy?
“Seriously, girl?”
Gay.net, August 2013.