Chick-Fil-A Consumer Ratings Drop

Well, this is some not-so-surprising news: Following the media backlash against Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy's comments concerning gay marriage, public opinion of Chick-fil-A sank to an all-time-low.

According to New York-based YouGov BrandIndex, Chick-fil-A's score sank from 64.9 points (out of 100) to 38.7 on July 25. Dan Cathy's comments went viral July 18.

Funnily enough, Chick-fil-A was well-regarded prior to the media storm about their anti-gay marriage stance; NRN reports that the chicken brand's index score was typically some 20 points higher than the average among its competitors.

Naturally, BrandIndex considers the politics to be the chain's downfall; a representative noted that Chick-fil-A's score among self-identified LGBT consumers was negative 52 on July 26. Ouch.

Meanwhile, Grub Street has some (negative) reactions from celeb chefs at the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival. "It's a great sandwich, but I choose not to spend my money anymore at a place that won't publicly embrace people of all shapes, sizes, skin color, politics, and sexual orientation. I can't believe that in the year 2012 this is even something beyond the scope of human reasoning," Andrew Zimmern said.

Similarly, Anne Burrell felt the company's stance is ridiculous. "It's just ugly, and there's no need for it. I hope they can pull their head out of their Chick-fil-A,"  Burrell said.