Walmart Thought Juneteenth Ice Cream Was A Good Idea & It Got Utterly Destroyed Online
"I can almost taste the independence my ancestors fought for..."
People walking in front of a Walmart store.
Walmart has apologized after getting an icy response to its Juneteenth-themed ice cream – a strange tie-in to a holiday that's all about the end of slavery in the U.S..
The retail chain apologized and pulled its Juneteenth ice cream earlier this week, after photos of the product surfaced on social media.
"Share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation and enduring hope," read the label on the tub of ice cream. Other merch, including plates and cup holders, read messages with phrases such as, "It's the freedom for me."
People online accused the retailer of being tone-deaf and of trying to capitalize on the holiday which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States.
Among the most vocal critics was Roy Wood Jr., a comedian who works on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah. Although if you ask him, he didn't expect it to turn out like this.
"I cracked one f*cking tweet about some f*cking slavery ice cream, and now I'm the Nat Turner of f*cking snacks!" he said on TikTok.
@roywoodjr “Now why am I in it?”- Linnethia Leakes
Walmart revealed that it had pulled the ice cream in a statement to Fox News earlier this week.
"Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence," Walmart said in the statement. "However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize. We are reviewing our assortment and will remove items as appropriate."
The ice cream was a swirled red velvet and cheesecake flavour. The company that makes the ice cream was founded by a white family and the CEO is also white, CBS News.
In other words, the product does not directly support a Black-owned business – something that many critics were upset about on social media.
"Walmart literally saw a successful small Black business and thought they could get away with stealing their flavor and re-branding it for Juneteenth," said user @amberisms_ on Twitter.
"I want to say I’m surprised by what they’ve done to Juneteenth but I’m not," said @FredTJoseph on the platform.
"I can almost taste the independence my ancestors fought for...thanks Walmart," shared @Mrvnsrmm.