Burger King Austria has created a new LGBT Pride Whopper for June, with Austrians able to get a whopper with either two top or two bottom burger buns.
The fast food chain made the announcement on their Instagram page earlier this month, letting Austrians know that for a limited time (until June 20), they would be able to purchase the special edition Pride Whopper.
The Pride Whopper is exactly the same as a regular Burger King Whopper, but instead of being housed in a normal burger bun, customers are served it with either two top halves or two bottom halves of the bun. This option should be chosen if you are feeling “fabulous.”
On the official Burger King Austria website, they confirmed that the Pride Whopper was made up of the same buns at the top and bottom in order to symbolise “equal love and equal rights.” They clarified it wasn’t just about gay love, but “all possible love constellations.”
Burger King Austria unveils same-side bun Pride Whopper in honor of Pride Month.
The Pride Whopper is available from now until June 20th. pic.twitter.com/Q03gJDZq3k
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 3, 2022
“It’s a little twist that’s supposed to put a smile on people’s faces, and is also to be understood as a symbolic act of solidarity and a clear positioning of equality,” Burger King Austria noted. Customers will not be given the choice between top or bottom buns, since Burger King believes that people are “born the way you are.”
Confusion had sprung up around the Pride Whopper, as in the LGBT community, a “top” and a “bottom” are slang for the two different types of gay men. “It took me a little while to realize they were supposed to be representing same-sex couples by having same-type buns paired up,” wrote Mey Rude in Out Magazine.
The Pride Whopper was subject to widespread mockery and criticism online, from both sides of the political aisle. Conservative commentator Brigitte Gabriel said that she would be only ordering the regular Whopper, “because ordering fast food doesn’t need to be a political statement,” while leftists attacked it as an example of “rainbow capitalism” and “queer-washing.”
Burger King has introduced a new "Pride Whopper" where you can order it with two tops or two bottoms of buns.
What a strange advertisement. I'll take my Whopper with a regular bun because ordering fast food doesn't need to be a political statement for me. pic.twitter.com/eE7fiQCTv5
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) June 5, 2022
I don’t know if Burger King Austria really thought they knocked it out of the park with this idea or if this is the brilliant work of an infiltrating queer marketer looking to play a joke on an entire conglomerate, but I…
Rainbow Capitalism is ridiculous, folks. pic.twitter.com/e1k11nnEX6
— Byn McDonald (@BynIsTheWorst) June 5, 2022
Babe are you okay? You’ve barely touched your pride whopper with extra gayo 🙁 pic.twitter.com/UtYwNg3ys7
— Lanii (@BigBroLanii) June 3, 2022
Burger King had previously launched a version of the Pride Whopper in the United States. In 2014, a San Francisco Burger King sold the “Proud Whopper Sandwiches” during the LGBT Pride Parade, which was a normal Whopper served in a rainbow colored wrapper, which when opened read “we are all the same inside.”
