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Hours after Canadian brand Hershey’s launched its HER for SHE campaign in conjunction with International Women’s Day, social media activists began calling for a boycott of the iconic chocolate maker.
The ad features trans woman and activist Fae Johnstone as one of the five faces of the campaign. Johnstone and five others will grace five different wrappers during March.
This is the third year that Hershey’s has marketed a product to celebrate International Women’s Day. His 2022 campaign was spearheaded by actress and comedian Mindy Kaling.
‘Why does Hershey’s hate women?’ mused a conservative Twitter account on Thursday.
While Johnstone, the chief executive of consulting firm Wisdom2Action, tweeted on Wednesday that he was “honored” to be on the campaign. By Thursday, Boycott Hershey’s was one of the top trending topics on Twitter in the United States and Canada.
Trans activist Fae Johnstone is one of five women featured in the Hershey’s Canada campaign
According to a Hershey’s Canada publication, the campaign will “shine a light on the women and girls who inspire us every day.”
The other women featured in the ad are Kelicia Massala, founder of Girl up Quebec, Naila Moloo, climate technology scientist, Rita Audi, gender equality and education activist, and indigenous rights activist Autumn Peltier.
According to a Hershey’s Canada publication, the campaign will “shine a light on the women and girls who inspire us every day.” Hershey’s has partnered with North Carolina-based Girls on the Run this year for the promotion.
The confectionery giant will donate $10,000 to each of the respective causes represented in the ads and $30,000 to Girl Up.
“You get the feeling that these companies always looked down on women, they were just waiting for the right moment to hit us. This is the thing about real women, Hershey’s. We have a long memory,” Abigail Shrier, author of Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, tweeted.
While Oli London, who announced his plans to transition in 2022, tweeted: ‘A biological MAN headlines new Hershey’s campaign celebrating women for International Women’s Day. This is misogyny at its finest! A real slap in the face for real women!
The other women featured in the campaign are, from left, Naila Moloo, a climate researcher, Kelicia Massala, founder of Girl Up Quebec, Rita Audi, a gender activist, Johnstone and Autumn Peltier, an indigenous people’s activist.
Johnstone is the CEO of the consulting firm Wisdom2Action.
On his Twitter page, Johnstone sent several messages in support of the campaign, lamenting the fact that he did not have many transgender role models growing up.
She wrote: ‘Many trans youth have not met a trans adult. I hope this campaign shows trans girls that they too can dream big and change the world.”
‘We still have a long way to go in the fight to end misogyny, patriarchy and gender violence. I hope this campaign helps give more young women and girls role models and models of possibility. And it shows them how we can change the world, together,” Johnstone also tweeted.
B-movie actress Erin Marie Hogan was among those who expressed her support for Johnstone, saying, “She’s a woman.” yes terfs [trans-exclusionary radical feminists] I don’t like it, they are free to go to shit’.
Twitch streamer Sarah Daniels wrote: “Thank you for representing us so beautifully.”
Hershey did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
The popular conservative Twitter account Catturd2 was one of the first to draw attention to the campaign.
“Hershey’s SHE bars serve as a poignant reminder to take a moment and shine a light on the women and girls who inspire us every day,” a press release from the Pennsylvania-based company read.
“The brand is inviting fans to recognize the women and girls in their lives through the simple gesture of gifting a SHE Hershey bar.”
According to the Girls on the Run website, the group is “dedicated to creating a world where all girls know and activate their limitless potential and are free to boldly pursue their dreams.”
In addition to Johnstone’s presence, at least one TikTok user was upset that Hershey’s featured “her” in the company name on bars instead of “her.”
One commenter said: ‘For those who didn’t understand, I could have said ‘celebrate her!’ Now she says ‘celebrate she’, it’s grammatically awkward.’
Republicans have put transgender issues at the center of their agenda, a tactic many observers see as an effort to keep conservative voters motivated and push voters sympathetic to Democrats on other issues into the Republican camp.
In the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders mocked the Democratic president as “the first man to hand over his presidency to an awakened mob who can’t even tell what is a woman”.