Taste the wokeness.
Skittles is getting pushback from conservatives who have soured on the popular candy’s new “woke” pro-LGBTQ packaging — threatening a repeat of the boycott that cost Anheuser-Busch billions of dollars after Bud Light partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“@Skittles is trying to turn your kids into BLM & LGBTQ+ activists,” one online user tweeted on Libs of TikTok. “Their packaging also features a drag queen.
“Skittles have gone completely woke.”
Twitter user InnerPeaceKarma was more succinct.
“Boycott Skittles,” they tweeted. “Simple.”
But Saturday night, the post had 1.8 million views.
The backlash ensued after Skittles’ parent company, the Wrigley Company, which in turn is owned by Mars Incorporated, swapped its rainbow-colored packaging for new LGBTQ-friendly illustrations and messages.
The new packages are predominantly black and white and include phrases like “Black Trans Lives Matter” and “Joy is Resistance,” Newsweek reported.
The new-look Skittles were designed in collaboration with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and is the fourth year the candymaker partnered with the organization to promote tolerance and inclusion.
Although many brands have promoted similar messages for years, conservatives have seized on it in recent months, most notably a widespread boycott of Bud Light over the beer company’s affiliation with Mulvaney.
The boycott of the once-popular beer has seen Anheuser-Busch’s profits plummet by nearly 30%, with a loss in core value estimated as high as $4 billion.
Florida’s Disney World amusement park and Target stores have also faced anti-gay backlashes.
Skittles now appears to be the latest target.
“Time to give them the ol’ Budweiser treatment,” Twitter user Phoenix2A responded on Libs of TikTok.
Said another commenter: “Time to Bud Light them.”
Melissa Harris, vice president of strategic partnerships for GLAAD defended the group’s collaboration with Skittles.
“The ongoing support and partnership we receive from Skittles helps us advance our critical mission to further dialogue that leads to cultural change,” she said in a statement.
“Skittles’ mission this year to spotlight LGBTQ+ stories is a profound initiative that can maximize awareness, support and acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community while advancing diversity and inclusion.”
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
