Popeyes’ New Chicken Sandwich Is Already Sold Out

Were you craving a delicious chicken sandwich that isn't served with a side of homophobia? Well, so was everyone else apparently: Popeyes' new sandwich is already sold out.

On Wednesday, Popeyes confirmed to CBS Newsthat its chicken sandwich -- which officially rolled out in stores nationwide on August 12 -- is no longer available for the time being due to overwhelming demand. In a statement, a representative for the fast-food chain said that demand "far exceeded [its] very optimistic expectations."

"In fact, Popeyes aggressively forecasted demand through the end of September and has already sold through that inventory," the company said.

Let's crunch the numbers on this: Popeyes reportedly operates 3,100 locations, and if each of those locations sold an average of 200 sandwiches every day for the past 15 days, that's more than nine million sandwiches -- a whole lot of chicken.

Demand for the sandwich was likely buoyed by continued backlash over anti-LGBTQ+ donations on the part of its closest competitor, Chick-fil-A. The national chicken chain has given millions to lobby groups like Focus on the Family and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which oppose LGBTQ+ equality.

Although the company pledged to stop giving to anti-equality organizations following nationwide calls to boycott the company, a report published in ThinkProgress in March found that its homophobic giving never ceased. In 2018, Chick-fil-A gave more than $1.8 million to a trio of groups with anti-LGBTQ+ track records: the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Paul Anderson Youth Home, and Salvation Army.

The San Antonio City Council refused to allow Chick-fil-A to open a new location in its airport following the revelations, but Texas state lawmakers intervened by passing a law preventing local and governmental authorities from taking action against the chain over its anti-LGBTQ+ affiliations.

There's no indication as to whether the nationwide clamor for Popeyes chicken sandwich has affected Chick-fil-A's bottom line.

Although the Popeyes chicken sandwich remains out of stock for the time being, the company has claimed it is "working tirelessly to bring the new sandwich back to guests as soon as possible." A representative says users of the restaurant's app will be notified the moment it's available.

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