Burger King have removed a "racist" ad showing people eating burgers with chopsticks
10 April 2019, 17:44
"Wow I’m never eating at Burger King ever AGAIN! Instead of just pulling that racist ad they should pull the entire company."
Burger King is being hit with backlash because of a new advert showing customers attempting to eat burgers with chopsticks.
Dolce & Gabbana's Instagram account has been hacked after a controversial 'racist' ad
The advert, which was for Burger King's New Zealand franchise, was a promotion for the fast food chain's new Vietnamese sweet chilli chicken sandwich. In the clip, customers struggled to eat the burger with a pair of giant red chopsticks.
"Take your taste buds all the way to Ho Chi Minh City with our Vietnamese Sweet Chili Tendercrisp, part of our Tastes of the World range. Available for a limited time only," read the video caption on Instagram, which has now been deleted.
Many claimed the advert was "racist" and making fun of Asians.
Dolce and Gabbana in 2018: makes racist ad with chopsticks
— Philip Chan (@the_philip_chan) April 9, 2019
Burger King in 2019: makes racist ad with BIGGER chopsticks pic.twitter.com/fnFOGSYL3u
LOL chopsticks amirite??????
— Catherine Shu (@CatherineShu) April 5, 2019
Who the hell came up with this? There are a lot of Asian people in NZ, though they probably aren’t getting their Vietnamese food from Burger King 🤢 https://t.co/XSGYX7IVBR
.@BurgerKing posted a racist ad by mocking #chopsticks its shameful #BurgerKing pic.twitter.com/0n5UKh0NVv
— MALIK AYUB SUMBAL | 马利克 | Малик | (@ayubsumbal) April 8, 2019
Y'all racist af, you better go burger king#burgerkingracist pic.twitter.com/a4Vy2ibIzD
— anonymous (@kuroshiro2312) April 9, 2019
Wow I’m never eating at @BurgerKing ever AGAIN! Instead of just pulling that racist ad they should pull the entire company 🙄 #burgerkingracist pic.twitter.com/DpEL1K76AM
— Bertie #36.5° (@MONB0YZ) April 9, 2019
Ignorant and most of all mistargeted Burger King Ad featuring people trying to eat hamburgers with giant chopsticks... Another #socialmedia backlash concerning Asian stereotypes, not long after contentious Dolce&Gabbana Ads - What do you think?
— AICY - Digital Marketing China (@BrizzoAICY) April 9, 2019
👉https://t.co/cElUuJ2JCh pic.twitter.com/ja3vlxxbaL
You try to get money from Vietnamese people, and this is what you did? Using chopsticks is a part of our culture, and we are proud of that. But we DO NOT use them to eat the fucking burgers. Burger King is humiliating our country and our culture. #BurgerKingGetoutofVietnam pic.twitter.com/6DJ6GVD9ob
— Y8n l8ks at me (@toppwoo) April 9, 2019
But others argued that Burger King weren't mocking Asian culture, just the act of eating a burger with chopsticks is funny.
If you think this Burger King ad is racist, you are the problem.
— Skyler Dale (@SkylerDale2) April 9, 2019
I literally do not understand this? Burger King aren’t saying chopsticks are funny.. they’re saying eating a BURGER with chopsticks is funny? Why ppl got to be offended by absolutely everything delete the Internet https://t.co/6bv9fVXhDp
— BEL (@belwithers) April 9, 2019
Burger King: *breathes*
— LiNoodle (@Linoodle_warai) April 9, 2019
Media: OMG THATS RACIST HOW DARE YOUU????
I wonder if Burger King's goal was to demonstrate what an offensive culture we live in today... Holy crap, they're chopsticks! Don't you dare eat a burger while wearing a sombrero, you'll offend the Mexicans! 🙄
— Angela (@sandboxgoldilox) April 9, 2019
The left are outraged over a hilariously funny Burger King add, people eating a Vietnamese burger with large chopsticks🤷🏻♂️ come on people, don’t be so sensitive & up tight & have a laugh.
— 🇳🇿lukeskywalking 🇺🇸 (@Dredgeydubs) April 9, 2019
It’s not mocking Vietnamese people, it’s mocking the people eating a burger with chopsticks
In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for the burger chain apologised for the ad and confirmed it had been removed.
They said: "The ad in question is insensitive and does not reflect our brand values regarding diversity and inclusion."