Just ahead of Thanksgiving, Campbell’s Soup has found itself in hot water. A Michigan lawsuit and a viral TikTok recording have put the company on the defensive after an executive allegedly called Campbell’s products “highly processed food” for “poor people.” The recording, which is now making the rounds online, might just turn out to be a nightmare for Campbell’s PR team, but a dream for Redditors who love reacting to this kind of outrage.
What Happened?
Robert Garza, a former cybersecurity analyst hired by Campbell’s in 2024, is the person who filed the lawsuit (and leaked the recording). According to the complaint, Garza met with VP and Chief Information Security Officer Martin Bally to discuss Garza’s salary — and instead walked into a bizarre monologue where Bally allegedly insulted Indian workers and the company’s own products.
The recording (posted to TikTok, because of course it was) appears to capture Bally saying Campbell’s soups are “highly processed food” meant for “poor people.” If you listen close enough, you can practically hear the marketing department screaming.
Garza told his manager about the comments soon after. Weeks later, Garza was abruptly fired. He’s now suing for emotional and economic damages.
Campbell’s says it hadn’t heard the recording before it aired on Detroit’s WDIV and can’t confirm if the audio is legit. They’ve placed Bally on leave and released a statement saying that if the comments were made, “they are unacceptable.” They also made sure to defend the soup itself — noting they use “100% real chicken,” just in case anyone actually thought it came from a 3-D printer, as the recording suggests.
What Are People Saying?
Some Redditors defended the affordability angle, others dragged the quality, and some observed that it isn’t actually all that surprising that an executive would make such a comment.
“What’s hilarious is that he needed inside information to discern that it was not, in fact, packed with nutrient goodness. This is drool-tier information.”
“And they can get away with it because their food is relatively cheaper than other food in these times.”
“Get the equivalent president’s choice or other generic brands. Their CEOs are just as bad, but not yet caught on a mic.”
What This Means for Campbell’s Soup
For now, Campbell’s is trying to keep things calm. The company has distanced Bally’s comments from the actual food-making operations (Campbell’s stated that the person in question works in IT), emphasized quality ingredients, and reminded everyone that one executive does not equal the entire brand.
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