Hindus Take Offense at KFC’s Diwali Graphic

6th of November, 2021. Georgetown, Guyana, South America

Some (not all) members of the Hindu Community across Guyana have taken offense at a Diwali greeting posted by Guyana’s Franchise of Kentucky Fried Chicken. For the occasion of Diwali, a graphic was posted on the social media page of Kentucky Fried Chicken in Guyana containing diyas, a container of KFC chicken, and text wishing all Guyanese a happy Diwali – as shown in the photo screenshot below.

As you can see in the screenshot posted above, the graphic was captioned, “Have a safe and wonderful celebration!”

However, the greeting was received the wrong way by some Hindus sparking a series of backlash. The issue pointed out is that the graphic contained a container of fried chicken – and it is strictly forbidden for Hindus to eat meat during the 5-day Diwali period. For this reason, some Hindus interpreted this greeting as an insult and desecration to their Hindu Faith and beliefs.

One Guyanese citizen of the Hindu faith was so offended by the KFC Diwali graphic that he called for a boycott of KFC.

No amount of apologies can erase the damages and disrespect that was done to the Hindu society and Hinduism as a whole. This was blatant disrespect, and as a true believer of sanatan Dharma, I take offense. I call on on the Hindus to stand firm against this blatant act of disrespect. Do not support KFC.

His post was shared 243 times, but not everyone took it seriously: It got 128 laugh reactions, 52 like reactions, and 26 angry reactions. Further, the comments show that not all Hindus have taken offense at the post, while some non-Hindus appear to express empathy towards their Hindu counterparts.

KFC has since issued an apology about the whole matter saying that the graphic wasn’t presented to management before it was posted, and implied that if it had, then it would have been rejected.

We’re Sorry

KFC sincerely apologizes for the recent Diwali post on social media that displayed a bucket of chicken in the graphic. This was a mistake since there were multiple graphics created and the incorrect one was used – a graphic that was not approved by Management. On this auspicious Diwali, we join our Hindu brothers and sisters as we celebrate the triumph of light over dark and good over evil.

KFC Guyana

KFC has since posted another graphic in the place of this previous one which has since been deleted.

The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha has apparently not issued any statement concerning the KFC post.

Learn more about Diwali – the Festival of Lights.