The Fast Food Chicken Beyoncé Gets For Free (For Life)

Beyoncé is known for many different things, from her 35 Grammy Award wins to her impressive entrepreneurial prowess, but one thing that many have taken an interest in over the years is her taste in food. While Bey follows a mostly plant-based diet outside of rare and specific exceptions these days, she's a well-known foodie; having dined at establishments like the historic restaurant Mary Mack in Atlanta, Georgia and the iconic Houston Creole restaurant Pappadeaux in the past. However, once upon a time, a massive favorite of the Destiny's Child singer was none other than Popeyes, a restaurant from which she received a lifetime membership card during the early days of her career.

The legendary singer first revealed that she was in possession of the free Popeyes card in a discussion on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2003 – a breakout year for Beyoncé as a solo recording artist. While she noted that she hadn't been eating the chain's food quite as much by the time of the interview, Beyoncé explained that her long-time love for Popeyes led to fans giving her the restaurant's food at shows. This ultimately prompted Popeyes to grant the singer free food for life, a deal that, despite being incredibly grateful for, Beyoncé never took advantage of due to her own personal shyness and embarrassment.

While it's hard to say exactly why someone likes or dislikes a fast food restaurant, one would have to imagine Beyoncé's enjoyment of Popeyes came from her love of Cajun food. While she's known for enjoying Cajun seafood in particular, the masterfully-seasoned (and beef-tallow-fried) chicken that Popeyes provides has always been popular in Beyoncé's hometown of Houston — which has the most Popeyes locations of any city in the country. In fact, Beyoncé's love of Popeyes has been so well-touted that even her wedding to Jay-Z in 2009 was rumored to have served Popeyes chicken as one of the many food options at the massive event.

"Queen Bee" is far from the only person to enjoy free food from a fast food chain. Notable people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett hold McDonald's Gold Cards that allow them to enjoy the chain for free, for example. UFC fighter Derrick Lewis was likewise guaranteed free Popeyes for life from his local Popeyes location back in 2019 amid his rise to fame, leading up to his match against then-Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 230. This makes Lewis and Beyoncé two of the only known celebrities to have the ability to eat anything on the Popeyes menu completely free of charge in perpetuity.