The glass ceiling has been finally been shattered — for KFC commercials.
Country icon Reba McEntire is the first female to don Colonel Sanders’ white wig and mustache, and sings and dances in an upcoming KFC ad. She even pulls double duty in the commercial, with the colonel throwing a hat on, well, herself, while sitting in the crowd.
McEntire will star in a few ads between now and April. Check out the first one below:
McEntire joins an impressive group of celebrities, including Ray Liotta, Norm Macdonald, and Rob Riggle, to portray the man famous for his seven herbs and spices.
“I said ‘Holy smokes!’,” McEntire told The AP on being tapped to play Sanders. “KFC has been a part of my life forever.”
You know who else said holy smokes? Twitter. The jokes were coming in hot on Friday, with some saying she’s the “first Colonel Sanders who has been told to smile more.”
Reba McEntire is the first Colonel Sanders who has been told to smile more and only gets to use 7 of the secret herbs and spices.
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) January 26, 2018
The “fried ceiling” is now a thing of the past.
Finally, women have broken the fried ceiling. Congratulations @reba
— Mary “Masks Make a Difference” WB (@therealMaryKat) January 26, 2018
Bloomberg’s Nick Turner pointed out it’s not the same as a female president but “it’s…uh, something?”
The new Colonel Sanders is a woman (Reba!). Not sure this is quite on the order of a female president, but it’s…uh, something? https://t.co/MpvW7sNzbv via @SitkaWriter
— Nick Turner (@NewsyNick) January 26, 2018
It’s the “biggest story of the year,” Calvin Stowell tweeted sarcastically.
Don’t let democracy dying distract you from the biggest story of the year. Reba is now shilling KFC and I’ve never been hungrier for it. https://t.co/Ef8IZbvy1R
— Calvin (@calvinstowell) January 26, 2018
Fix the food? Eh, how about Reba instead, tweeted T.W. Haines.
https://twitter.com/T_W_Haines/status/956866162582740992
Presented without comment:
https://twitter.com/aaron_pendley/status/956920994400268289
One watchful eye noticed McEntire is the first lady of food ads.
Let's see Reba been in commercials for: Fritos, Dr Pepper, Activia, Hallmark, and KFC. This woman…
— Haley (@fancy_mcentire) January 26, 2018
Al Shipley hopes KFC paid Reba as much as the other male leads.
*5 minutes later* KFC is being accused of paying Reba less than half as much as every other Colonel Sanders https://t.co/DZ1yJu72hE
— Al Shipley (@alshipley) January 26, 2018
Finally, one discerning Twitter follower actually pointed out to The A.V. Club that Halle Berry beat McEntire to the punch, which isn’t quite true.
https://twitter.com/scrimjab/status/956737426583703552