Molly McPhersonCrisis and Reputation Strategist | Creator of Mollyfi | Host of The PR Breakdown

Taco Bell Took the Hit for Someone Else's Statement

29 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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0:48

In this YouTube commentary, Molly McPherson examines a public relations controversy surrounding a lettuce safety issue that affected Taco Bell. She argues that Taylor Farms' defensive "pissing match" statement missed the core problem: a decline in Taco Bell foot traffic caused by the lettuce scare. McPherson notes Taco Bell's tactical response—promoting menu items that omit lettuce—to recover lost customers, and emphasizes that the real harm is being borne by the restaurant, not the farm. Her critique highlights a disconnect between corporate blame-shifting and the operational impact on the restaurant chain.

Chapters

This became a Taco Bell story. And Taco Bell, what did Taco Bell have to do with it? It's just where lettuce ends up. And it also happens to be a restaurant that has a lot of lettuce in it. Now, Taco Bell, since then, this past week, they have been promoting meal items without lettuce in it. That's part of the way that they responded to try and have a recovery because the foot traffic dropped at Taco Bell. That's another reason why the statement from Taylor Farms is the wrong statement. The pissing match statement, that's what we'll call it, is the wrong statement. You're not speaking to the people. You are not speaking to the harm that was caused. What's the outcome? People aren't walking into Taco Bell anymore. Now Taco Bell is taking your hit.