Two companies are facing backlash following the use of chopsticks in a Burger King commercial and comments made by a beauty company CEO about “gross” Asian mushrooms from “sh*tty” Chinese restaurants.
The commercial which is airing in New Zealand has sparked worldwide backlash, including among Asian Americans in the United States.
Burger King New Zealand released the ad on Instagram to promote its Vietnamese Sweet Chilli Tendercrisp burger. It shows customers struggling to eat the hamburger with chopsticks. Why anyone would attempt this remains a mystery, but nonetheless someone in the company’s marketing department thought it would be funny.
According to the Huffington Post, Maria Mo, a Korean New Zealander tweeted her displeasure.
That tweet caught the attention of Asian Social Net out of Chicago which retweeted Maria’s with the simple comment, “totally not ok.”
The controversy has also caught the attention of Pulitzer Prize winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen.
Actress Tamlyn Tomita used some choice language to respond to the ad.
Also today, Lawless Beauty CEO Annie Lawless is apologizing for comments she made on Instagram. The apology can briefly be seen if you click on her Instagram profile picture.
Next Shark reports Lawless said in her now deleted My Story on Instagram “We’re out here hiking and we’re discussing those really gross little Asian mushrooms that you get like, in soup if you’re at like a really shi**ty Chinese place, that are kind of slimy and like, gray,” said Lawless, who captioned her story “bc this is normal hiking chat.”
This morning, Lawless is striking a different tone. “I totally own my words and the way they came across…thank you to everyone who has reached out to me over the past 24 hours from a place of kindness to educate me on why my comment wasn’t cool. I am listening and learning from each and every one of you. I am not perfoect…I am not above being corrected and schooled on my own words.”
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RE: Chopsticks and Chinese mushrooms get Two companies in trouble: Oh who is surprised?