The cereal brand Cheerios was once slammed by Prince fans after posting an ‘insensitive’ tweet in the wake of the musical icon’s death.
On April 21st 2016, the world lost a musical icon: the one and only Prince. The American singer-songwriter and generational talent is generally championed as one of the greatest figures in the history of music, adored for the larger-than-life personality behind such hits as Kiss, When Doves Cry, and Purple Rain. When the legend passed away at 57, tributes poured in from around the world. However, it was a tweet from Cheerios that sent fans into a frenzy…
Cheerios was criticized for tribute tweet about Prince’s death
Whether you like them plain and original or honey nut, Cheerios has been a much-loved breakfast cereal ever since they originated as CheeriOats in 1941.
The sweet and crunchy little hoops are as inoffensive as anything you could ever imagine, but in 2016, the Cheerios company owned by General Mills quickly put out a tweet in response to Prince’s devastating passing.
Not long after the initial announcement of his death, Cheerios tweeted the words ‘Rest in Peace’ against a purple backdrop in a nod to Purple Rain, the actor and musician’s iconic album, movie, and song.
Instead of a standard ‘i’ in his name, on the other hand, the letter was dotted at the top with a Cheerio to make the tribute on-brand. The tweet’s caption was simply a Prince hashtag.
A bunch of fans were quick to take offense at the tweet, accusing the company of being exploitative.
“Can’t believe that Cheerios Prince ad,” one tweeted in reaction. “Incredibly poor taste to use his death for self-promotion. So much hate.”
Another wrote: “OMG I just saw Cheerios’ #Prince tweet. No. Just no! This is not about you.”
Taking a similar issue, one responded: “That commercial from Cheerios shortly after Prince passed away was insensitive.”
Cheerios deleted the Prince tweet and offered a statement
Shortly after the tweet was torn apart by mourning Prince fans, it was deleted and Cheerios shared a statement explaining their intentions and why the post was removed.
“As a Minnesota brand, Cheerios wanted to acknowledge the loss of a musical legend in our hometown,” they addressed. “But we quickly decided that we didn’t want the tweet to be misinterpreted, and removed it out of respect for Prince and those mourning.”
Despite some taking obvious offense, others shared their support for Cheerios.
“I just read people got pissed at Cheerios for their tribute to Prince,” one defender tweeted. “I thought it was cute. People will try to ruin everything.”
Similarly, somebody argued that “Prince would have hated this,” about the backlash, not the tweet itself. “He loved all…”
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