Popeyes chicken sandwich caused 'emotional damage,' lawsuit claims

Popeye's.
(Image credit: ERIC BARADAT/AFP/Getty Images)

It's far from the only time a chicken sandwich has let someone down, but it may be the first time a chicken sandwich has caused a lawsuit.

A Tennessee man is suing Popeyes after suffering the chain's constant lack of chicken sandwiches. Craig Barr tried and failed to pick up a now-infamous sandwich, wasting "countless time driving," blowing a tire, and even falling victim to a poultry scam in the process, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports via Barr's lawsuit.

The drama all began with Popeyes' Aug. 12 launch of its crispy chicken sandwich, which some claim to be a close competitor to — or even better than — Chik-Fil-A's signature item. Customers started lining up, and the chain quickly began selling out, sparking rumors of black market chicken deals. In his suit filed Wednesday, Barr said he fell victim to a false chicken salesman, meeting him behind a Chattanooga Popeyes and giving him $25, only for the con artist to go inside the store and never come back.

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Barr went on to accuse Popeyes of deceptive advertising, saying the chain purposely underproduced the sandwiches to get media attention. Barr apparently fell for that hype, driving between locations until he blew a tire and cracked a rim on his car, racking up $1,500 in damages. He's looking for $5,000 for his "emotional damage," namely because "friends laughed" at him for the wild chicken chase.

When reached for a comment, Barr told the Times Free Press the following: "I can't get happy; I have this sandwich on my mind. I can't think straight. It consumes you." Popeyes told local ABC News affiliate WCTV that it doesn't comment on "threatened litigation."

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.