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KFC Taps Reba McEntire to Play First Female Colonel Sanders
Hollywood Reporter ^ | January 26, 2018 | Associated Press

Posted on 01/26/2018 6:07:24 AM PST by EdnaMode

In commercials starting next week, the country star dons the Colonel's famous white suit and black tie.

The next Colonel Sanders is giving the character a little bit of "country music flair." KFC has picked singer Reba McEntire to play the founder of the fried chicken chain, the first female celebrity in the role.

In commercials starting next week, McEntire dons the Colonel's famous white suit and black tie, but with a twist.

McEntire's outfit has fringe on the back, and a glittery shine, giving the getup "a little bit of the country music flair," she told the Associated Press in an interview. McEntire sings onstage as the Colonel, with a white wig and white facial hair.

"I thought the transformation was really funny," said the singer, who will appear in the ads until the end of April. "I got a big kick out of it."

A rotating cast of famous names have portrayed the Colonel since 2015, but McEntire is the first famous female to do it, and the first musician. She may also be the first woman in KFC's nearly 90-year-history to depict the Colonel. The company said the "best historical minds at KFC" could not remember a woman having stepped into the role.

McEntire was approached about doing so in December. "I said, 'Holy smokes!,'" she told the Associated Press. "KFC has been a part of my life forever."

KFC said it picked McEntire because of her Southern roots, and to help promote its new Smoky Mountain BBQ, which combines fried chicken with a taste of barbeque. McEntire said she has eaten at KFC all her life, since her days growing up in Oklahoma.

She sings in the ad, in a tongue-in-cheek approach: "I'm Colonel Sanders, the same as always," McEntire croons. "I'm definitely not a woman." McEntire also appears as herself in the commercial, as an audience member.

Col. Harland Sanders, who died in 1980, first started selling fried chicken from a single restaurant in 1930. KFC, now owned by Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands Inc., resurrected the Colonel for its ads in 2015 after a nearly 20-year absence, hiring Rob Lowe, Ray Liotta and other famous men for the role.

The ad was overseen by KFC's new chief marketing officer, Andrea Zahumensky, who is trying to continue a turnaround of the brand. "I think this is going to be our most-loved Colonel yet," she said.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Food; Society
KEYWORDS: colonelsanders; kfc; rebamcentire
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To: Truth29
So KFC is marketing the Colonel as a cross dresser, drag queen or tranny? Is that correct?

No, they're just marketing Breasts!

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

61 posted on 01/26/2018 9:47:35 AM PST by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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To: EdnaMode

Ridiculous. Wasn’t the real Col Sanders the guy who put the secret batter together and founded the KFC chain.

If they want to put a woman out front, that’s fine. But making her a faux Col. Sanders in drag is stupid.


62 posted on 01/26/2018 9:52:35 AM PST by wildbill (Quis Custodiet ipsos custodes? Who watches the watchmen?)
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To: kaktuskid

“Why not Samuel L Jackson as the Colonel?”

Why not Samuel L Jackson auditioning as Christopher Walken for the Colonel?

I had to send this to the SNL head writer. I am still laughing. I think this would go down as one of the funniest skits ever.


63 posted on 01/26/2018 9:56:26 AM PST by EQAndyBuzz (Death of the MSM - "Because it is my show and I don't want to do that." Jake Tapper)
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To: MamaDearest

I remember George Hamilton in a “B” movie comedy where he played Zorro as well as his gay brother. His faux Spanish accent was hilarious.

“Ju hwan me to geev my lahn to dah pipples?”


64 posted on 01/26/2018 10:46:24 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: SoFloFreeper

I wish I had one in my community. The KFC in my little town was the second one the Colonel opened. It’s still open but the chicken is awful. They have changed the recipe and the chicken looks like pigeons it has become so small and is cooked to the point of being burned. KFC has the highest prices and the food quality is in the crapper.

The local Food City super market makes a better fried chicken or Lee’s Famous Recipe.


65 posted on 01/26/2018 11:46:02 AM PST by sarge83
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To: Mastador1

I don’t think Reba is that busty!


66 posted on 01/26/2018 11:47:29 AM PST by sarge83
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To: Rio

Film Actors Guild


67 posted on 01/26/2018 12:23:58 PM PST by onedoug
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To: Liz

Never liked the guy. He wasn’t only creepy as Col Sanders.


68 posted on 01/26/2018 12:30:24 PM PST by onedoug
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To: Mastador1

Hmmm. Now which product contains more artificial material?


69 posted on 01/26/2018 2:56:51 PM PST by Truth29
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To: Truth29

Well with one article you can clearly tell what it is, while with the Colonel you get a bucket of unrecognizable pieces and the one mystery piece that everyone is pretty darn sure is ass.


70 posted on 01/26/2018 6:07:26 PM PST by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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