Earlier this year, Bud Light partnered with Dylan Mulvaney, a man who believes he is transgender and gained online attention by posting videos detailing his “Days of Girlhood” on TikTok. Bud Light’s partnership with Mulvaney caused an intense backlash against the company. Townhall covered how Bud Light sales took a nosedive following the boycott over its work with Mulvaney. And, some retailers indicated that they would no longer restock it.
Now, Costa Coffee, the United Kingdom’s largest coffee chain and the second-largest coffee chain in the world, is facing a potential boycott after photos circulated online of one its the company’s mobile cafe vans, which featured an illustration of a transgender person.
Costa Coffee, the United Kingdom’s largest coffee chain and the second-largest coffee chain in the world, is facing a potential boycott after photos circulated online of one its the company’s mobile cafe vans, which featured an illustration of a transgender person.
According to NBC News, the hashtag #BoycottCostaCafe circulated after James Essess, co-founder of an “anti-trans” group called Thoughtful Therapists, shared a photo of the mobile cafe and posted it on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Could you kindly explain why you are glorifying irreversible surgery performed on healthy breasts of women for a mental health condition?” he wrote. The tweet has been viewed over 9 million times.
Dear @CostaCoffee,
— James Esses (@JamesEsses) July 31, 2023
Could you kindly explain why you are glorifying irreversible surgery performed on healthy breasts of women for a mental health condition? pic.twitter.com/9NyFPYj9J3
“At Costa Coffee we celebrate the diversity of our customers, team members and partners,” Costa Coffee said in a statement to GB News about the illustration. “We want everyone that interacts with us to experience the inclusive environment that we create, to encourage people to feel welcomed, free and unashamedly proud to be themselves. The mural, in its entirety, showcases and celebrates inclusivity.”
In an interview with The Telegraph, a spokesperson for the human rights organization Sex Matters spoke out against the company.
“The cartoon-like picture of a young woman who has had her breasts surgically removed is shocking and irresponsible,” Sex Matters board member Maya Forstater said. “Young women are being sold a lie that if they have their breasts removed and take hormones they can become men or at least avoid being women.”
In addition to Bud Light and Ulta, earlier this year, Target faced intense backlash after unveiling its Pride collection, which included “tuck friendly” bathing suits for men to appear more feminine. Many customers called for a boycott of Target until they pulled the collection from its shelves. As a result, Target held an “emergency meeting” over the collection, and some stores moved their Pride sections as a result. Target lost billions of dollars due to boycotts over the products, which Townhall covered.