Krispy Kreme KKK Gaffe: Donut Store Pulls A Kardashian
Krispy Kreme U.K. is trying to dig itself out of a very big donut hole after advertising “KKK Wednesday,” and white supremacists are going to be sorely disappointed by what the company has to say about its unfortunate acronym choice.
Krispy Kreme is known for its creative promotions, which include Ghostbusters-themed donuts and free fried treats for customers willing to dress up like Captain Jack Sparrow on Talk Like a Pirate Day. Fortunately, “KKK Wednesday” wasn’t meant to be a similar promotion — the company was never planning on giving away donuts to customers dressed up like members of the Ku Klux Klan.
According to the Guardian, the Hull, U.K., branch of Krispy Kreme recently promoted Krispy Kreme Klub Wednesday on its Facebook page. However, the company chose to shorten the event to “KKK Wednesday” in a post that also advertised “Funday Monday” and “Colouring Tuesday.” The ad below was meant to inform customers about “a series of planned events for children during a week-long break from school.”
Krispy Kreme’s KKK Wednesday is the most racist way to enjoy doughnuts this half term http://t.co/K6ILmXqX9N pic.twitter.com/uvEYa1hZH9
— The Independent (@Independent) February 17, 2015
After a few of the branch’s Facebook followers pointed out that KKK is an acronym for a racist hate group, the post was taken down. Krispy Kreme also issued an apology for the gaffe.
“Krispy Kreme apologizes unreservedly for the inappropriate name of a customer promotion at one of our stores,” a spokeswoman told the Guardian.
“This promotion was never intended to cause offence. All material has been withdrawn and an internal investigation is currently underway.”
The Krispy Kreme Klub Wednesday event at the Hull branch has not been cancelled — it will simply be renamed.
This isn’t the first time a brand has caused controversy by using the KKK acronym on social media. According to ET Online, reality show star/businesswoman Khloe Kardashian made a Ku Klux Klan joke on Instagram last November. Khloe shared the photo below along with a caption that simply read, “True.”
ET Online points out that Khloe Kardashian didn’t create the picture — it’s a meme that has been circulating on the web for quite some time. However, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star experienced a pretty big social media backlash for sharing it, and she eventually decided to take it down.
Of course, there’s a big difference between what Khloe Kardashian did and what Krispy Kreme did — Khloe intentionally referenced the KKK in her post, while the U.K. donut store probably just made an honest mistake. Khloe also didn’t post her Ku Klux Klan joke on an official social media page for any of her family’s stores or products.
The Hull branch of Krispy Kreme can only hope that its Wednesday meeting doesn’t get crashed by a bunch of guys wearing sheets.
[Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty]
