KFC is the world leader in selling fried chicken pieces served in a bucket, in part thanks to their legendary secret recipie handed down from the Colonel himself. Or that’s what they want you to think because the real Colonel Sander thought that modern KFC taste like shit and KFC tried (and failed) to sue him to get him to stop.
You see, the original recipe for KFC by which we mean the one Colonel Sanders first used to make the chicken he’d sell to people from the gas station he ran, was fucking phenomenal to the point that people began visiting that gas station just to try some of his god-like fried chicken. The only problem though was that the recipe Sanders used was too good and when he began franchising his chicken-by-the-bucket operation, nobody except him was able to make it quite right. Which isn’t surprising, Sanders spent years and presumably sacrificed thousands of chickens to the flavor gods perfecting that recipe, no shit some minimum wage dipshit in a paper hat couldn’t make it to his standards.
When the brand was ultimately bought out by a massive company, Sanders’ original recipe was simplified to increase revenue and reduce the amount of time it took to train people to make it, which pissed off Sanders to no end. Despite being hired by the KFC brand to serve in a mostly symbolic role, basically being relegated to the position of mascot, Sanders would often travel to KFC franchises across the country to see if they were making his chicken right and more often than not, he was disappointed.
Sanders, who always travelled in a big-ass white car with a gold chicken decal, liked to surprise franchises by turning up in his trademark white suit, which he never took off, and ordered a single piece of chicken. If he didn’t like it, he’d leap the counter and personally teach the staff there to make it right. Just for a second imagine working in a KFC in the 70’s only to see the guy on your fucking logo climb out of a giant car with a chicken on the front and walk straight behind the counter and start dicking around, you’d freak the hell out.
As the KFC brand grew, the size of the dent Sanders was able to make on the training of new staff dwindled and he became frustrated at the poor quality of the food carrying his likeness. Once being quoted as openly saying that KFC gravy taste like “sludge” and that that batter they used to fry the chicken was closer to wallpaper paste than his original recipe in an interview when asked if he ever ate at KFC. Remember Sanders was, at the time, being paid by KFC to be the literal face of their company. As you can imagine KFC didn’t appreciate sanders saying their food taste like shit and tried to sue him which is when it emerged that nowhere in Sander’ contract had it been stipulated that he had to refrain from being critical of KFC product because why the fuck would that be in his contract, it was his recipe.
When the case was thrown out of court, KFC sheepisly offered Sanders a million dollars to stop publicly shitting just all over their brand because it kind of looked bad. Sanders shrugged, took the money and kept on being awesome.
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If you want to read about more people who just didn’t give a shit, check out our article on the time President Kennedy rescued someone from water that was on fire, with his teeth. Or how about our other article on how the cast of Friends once took a pay cut so that they’d all be paid the same amount.
