Calgary Gelato Company Is Sorry For ‘Ignorant’ Black Lives Matter Flavour (PHOTO)
There's been an ice cream-related controversy. A recent campaign has caused a Calgary gelato company to publicly apologize for their latest flavour. The Righteous Gelato company received backlash online for posting about their new flavour that used Black Lives Matter art on the carton. The themed jar was pulled from the company's website just hours after it was launched.
Righteous Gelato, formerly known as Fiasco Gelato, released a new flavour of ice cream on Friday, June 12.
The chocolate mint chip treat came in a carton decorated with the words "Black Lives Matter" and an illustration featuring Black protesters.
The three people on the box were wearing masks that said “I can’t breathe” and holding signs that read “Black Lives Matter.”
Debuting online, the ice cream company posted a photo of the new ice cream stating that $5 from each $12 jar sold would support the efforts of combating systemic racism, says CBC News.
The post was swiftly met with backlash.
CBC News reports that some of the commenters were accusing the gelato company of profiting from Black Lives Matter (BLM).
People were also reportedly questioning the organization the company had selected to give donations to, saying it wasn't affiliated with BLM.
The original post has since been taken down and replaced with a lengthy apology.
In the apology letter, it claims the company's intention was to stand in solidarity and donate more than 100% of the profits to organizations that support inclusion and diversity.
The company went on to write that the general public is right and they need to work on a number of things including being leaders in education, including more organizations that are doing specific work with the Black community, and hiring Black artists who are underrepresented.
They also admit that choosing chocolate as the flavour was “ignorant" and they will be putting in more thought about this sort of thing in the future.
“In our intention of doing the right thing, we did the wrong thing. And that’s not ok,” reads the apology.
Noting that the company has “always stood for doing whats; right,” they plan on committing themselves to amplifying voices, providing “more than equal” opportunities to Black people, and supporting organizations that fight for the Black community.
Labels and artwork will also be removed from jars that were already ordered.
The artist that made the artwork for the jars also released a public statement saying they were sorry and they should have declined the company's request.
The gelato company has announced they will now be donating 100% of their profits from all products that are sold online during the month of June.