Outback Steakhouse is known for providing mediocre, high-calorie fare to diners interested in red meat and/or a lot of fried food items.
But the chain has now been forced to address rumors that it’s also part of a mysterious religious organization known as the Illuminati.
For those understandably unaware, the Illuminati is a secret society that supposedly came into existence way back in 1776 in Bolivia.
The group’s goals at the time were to oppose superstition, obscurantism, religious influence over public life and various abuses of state power. Which may very well have been the case when it was formed.
At this point, however, it’s unclear whether the Illuminati even exists.
Over the past decade or so, chatter around the Illuminati has centered on its alleged aim of controlling world affairs and masterminding events around the globe.
There’s no real evidence this is going on, of course – and there’s definitely no evidence that stars such as Beyonce and Kanye West are part of the Illuminati, despite many random rumors over the years that have connected the artists to the organization.
So… where does Outback Steakhouse fit into such talk?
Good question!
Such seemingly ridiculous fervor got started this month when a Twitter user connected the locations of Outback Steakhouses in Arizona, Georgia, and Illinois… as well as several other states.
The result of these connections, when drawn on a map, created a unique star shape, otherwise known as a pentagram.
This shape has some associations with witchcraft, although it has its origins in ancient Greece. Blah, blah, blah, you’re likely thinking.
However, the mere appearance of the pentagram set Twitter ablaze with suggestions of Satanic worship and questions over whether these locations were plotted specifically to create the shape that is so often connected to the Illuminati.
Check out the map that went viral below:
Crazy, right?
Not even worth acknowledging, right?
Wrong. This is the Internet. Things spread quickly and it doesn’t take much to soil an establishment’s reputation.
Therefore, in response to an inquiry from The Daily Dot, Outback actually released a statement that clapped back against all talk of Illuminati associations.
“No plans, other than to bring bold steaks and Bloomin’ Onions to our guests!” the chain said in a Twitter statement, which didn’t exactly quiet the critics who still think Outback is up to something shady.
Could Outback be making bold steaks and Bloomin’ Onions and ALSO be teaming up with a shadowy group of villains dead set on world domination?
It could.