The mystery of Brad’s wife
The employee of a Cracker Barrel in Indiana is let go. It’s lamentable, but hardly an extraordinary development in the restaurant business. Yet 24,000 strangers have signed an online petition that demands the chain air its reason for dismissing Nanette Byrd, better known to social media-ites as Brad’s wife.
It’s not as if there’s a suspicion Byrd was scapegoated, victimized by prejudice or otherwise wrongly fired. The petition and other acts of protest are the reaction to a heart-tugging post on Facebook by the woman’s husband, Bradley Reid Byrd.
“To say I’m pissed off would be an understatement. After 11 years, those low lifes at Cracker Barrel let my wife go,” Byrd wrote. “I would really like to know why and those of you who know me these days, know that I WILL find out. In the mean time, if any of you would like to know also, please go to their Facebook page and ask them.”
The responses, though untallied, seemed to run into the thousands.
Yet Cracker Barrel has refused to air its reason, fanning the controversy. Inquisitive minds were left with the vague explanation the chain gave Nanette Bryd—that the situation wasn’t working out.
Cracker Barrel is now being slammed for its silence in social media posts carrying any number of hashtags, including #bradswife, #justiceforbradswife and #bradswifematters. Other outraged netizens have bashed the Corydon, Ind., branch in Google reviews.
Of course, the laws of internet physics require that every action be counterbalanced with an equal and opposite reaction. Chick-fil-A obliged by posting the picture of a sign outside one of its units: Now Hiring Brad’s Wife!