KFC Responds After Customer's Shorted Order Goes Viral
KFC's comeback of its beloved Popcorn Chicken has run into a viral controversy, after a customer accused the chain of shortchanging him on his order and posted about it online.
TikTok content creator Atticus posted a video on August 3 claiming his $10 Popcorn Chicken Bucket, advertised as containing 50 pieces, came up significantly short. According to the video, Atticus counted his order and found only 35 pieces, well below what he'd expected to receive.
KFC's Response
KFC responded directly in the comments of Atticus' post the following day, writing, "35 is definitlyyyy not fifty. We apologize for the mistake and thank you for pointing it out. Please send us a DM to make it right." Atticus wasn't satisfied with the response, replying, "Thanks for your apology, but I still don't forgive. You would have sent me a DM if you wanted to fix it. You wouldn't expect me to DM with you."
According to reporting on the incident, Atticus said he returned to the KFC location to pick up additional food but hesitated to go inside, saying he feared being treated "like trash" or mocked by staff following the viral attention. He's continued posting follow-up videos about the experience, including one in which he said he couldn't sleep after the incident. It remains unclear whether KFC has resolved the matter with him directly. USA TODAY reported it reached out to the specific Atticus KFC location for comment on August 5 but had not received a response.
The Bigger Picture: Popcorn Chicken's Big Comeback
The viral complaint comes amid a much larger rollout for KFC, which brought back Popcorn Chicken nationwide last month after more than three years off the menu, ending what the company described as a sustained wave of fan demand. "We read every comment, every DM, and even every online petition signature, and the message was impossible to ignore," said Melissa Cash, KFC's U.S. chief marketing officer.
The comeback includes three ways to order the bite-sized chicken: the $10 Popcorn Chicken Bucket, featuring 16 ounces of chicken and four dipping sauces meant for sharing; the $10.99 Popcorn Chicken Big Box, which includes 6 ounces of chicken, two Original Recipe Tenders, fries, a drink, two dipping sauces and a chocolate chunk cookie; and a smaller Popcorn Chicken Combo. KFC also partnered with GIPHY to release a collection of Popcorn Chicken-themed GIFs featuring the Colonel to mark the return.
First introduced in the early 1990s, Popcorn Chicken built a devoted following that persisted online even after it disappeared from menus in 2023, with fans flooding the company's social media accounts and even circulating petitions calling for its return.
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