Is Hooters Really Rebranding Because Millennials "Aren't That Into Boobs" Anymore? Here's What We Know So Far

On Wednesday, Twitter was in an uproar because of some breaking news that announced Hooters was shutting many restaurants and rebranding. Hooters has long been known as a chain of restaurants that features attractive waitresses who wear low-cut shirts and short shorts. However, Hooters was trending on Twitter and there was a lot of talk of the restaurant chain closing their doors and rebranding in order to better appeal to the younger demographics.

Is Hooters Really Rebranding Because Millennials "Aren't That into Boobs" Anymore? Here's What We Know So Far

Political strategist Chuck Callisto tweeted, "BREAKING NOW: Hooters Purportedly shutting it's doors - 'REBRANDING' after study reveals millennials 'aren't that into boobs'.. WOKE HOOTERS? [sic]" The tweet has more than 5,000 likes and almost 1,200 comments. Author and conservative political activist Nick Adams also announced this news:

"Dining at Hooters is a cornerstone of the American male experience. When the woke feminists and beta males attack Hooters, they aren't just attacking a restaurant that employs beautiful women to serve cold beer and hot wings. They're attacking the essence of American manhood."

After hundreds of tweets and even more replies to these tweets, there was some speculation that this announcement wasn't exactly true. In 2017, Complex published an article called "Hooters Is Shutting Down Locations, Restrategizing After Recent Study Says Millennials Aren’t That Into Boobs." So this isn't exactly breaking news. In the article, the writer referenced a study from Pornhub that showed millennials are less interested in breasts than older generations.

"Pornhub visitors between the ages of 18 to 24 are 19% less likely to search for breasts when compared to all other age groups, but visitors aged 55 to 64 are 17% more likely to search," the data revealed.

"At the moment, larger breasts are out, though I’m sure they’ll come back," Sarah Pedersen, professor of communications and media at Robert Gordon University, told Playboy. "We tend to react to what went before."

But Hooters has been trying to appeal to younger demographics for a long time, so it's not breaking news that the chain is rebranding itself. According to Business Insider, the number of Hooters locations around the country has dropped by more than 7% between 2012 and 2016. Ten years ago, Hooters updated its decor and menu, attempting to attract millennials to their locations. There was even a casual location opened up called Hoots, where the waiters were all fully clothed—and there were both men and women working there.

While Twitter is having a field day with the Hooters news, it's actually not really news at all. It's no secret that the chain has been attempting to pivot for the last decade in an attempt to diversity its customer base and stay relevant.