Jinger Duggar Loses Promotional Partnership, Donut Company Issues Apology
Jinger Duggar is no longer getting paid to help a Los Angeles-based business sell its round, doughy sweets. On Wednesday, the Fonuts donut bakery took to Instagram to announce that it was severing ties with the Counting On star. The company had partnered with Jinger for a special holiday promotion, but it seemingly caved to pressure from Duggar critics who disapproved of the business’ association with a member of the controversial family.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Jinger Duggar recently announced that Fonuts was naming a special limited edition confection after her: the “Jingerbread” donut. The company was going to sell the seasonal treats all December long. However, Fonuts decided to end the promotion after learning more about Jinger and her family.
In their social media statement, the owners of the bakery apologized for not properly vetting Jinger, whom they referred to as “a poor choice of promotional partner.”
“We were shocked and dismayed to learn about who we were associating with. We recognize we really made a mistake by not properly researching them,” the statement read. “We have ended our partnership with Jinger Vuolo and the company that introduced us.”
“We would like you all to know, we promise to be more diligent in the future and will only work with people who truly represent our core values of kindness, inclusivity and transparency.”
Jinger has deleted her post promoting Fonuts from her Instagram page.
The owners of Fonuts didn’t reveal what they learned about Jinger that made them choose to cut ties with her. However, many of the company’s Instagram followers seemed to believe that the decision was related to the Duggar family’s views on the LGBTQ community. The business’ patrons had mixed feelings about its owners’ actions.
“Following you since I heard you dont tolerate homophobic influencers. Her and her family preach against people different than them while their closests are full of skeletons. There is no place for bigots anymore,” wrote one commenter who supported the company’s decision.
“This is sad, are you ending the partnership bc she’s a Christian? That’s prejudiced? I started following you bc she told me to,” remarked a critic of the move.
Jinger Duggar avoids publicly discussing some of her family’s more controversial religious views, but her husband, preacher Jeremy Vuolo, has been vocal about his opposition to gay marriage. As reported by In Touch Weekly, he once compared the acceptance of same-sex relationships to a gun and being burned alive, and he has accused the LGBTQ community and its supporters of embracing a “false definition of love.”
While Jinger’s religious views have cost her one promotional partnership, she’s not giving up on being a social media influencer just yet. The same day that she got dumped by Fonuts, she took to Instagram to reveal that she was partnering with Rebecca Minkoff, a designer clothing and accessories brand, for a special holiday promotion.
