After conservatives attacked M&Ms for slightly redesigning some of their signature mascot characters to be more “inclusive,” the beloved candy brand has announced it is taking an “indefinite pause from the spokescandies” and replacing them with actress and comedian Maya Rudolph.
“America, let’s talk,” began a statement the company posted to its social media.
“In the last year, we’ve made some changes to our beloved spokescandies. We weren’t sure if anyone would even notice. And we definitely didn’t think it would break the internet. But now we get it – even a candy’s shoes can be polarizing. Which was the last thing M&M’s wanted since we’re all about bringing people together.”
“Therefore, we have decided to take an indefinite pause from the spokescandies. In their place, we are proud to introduce a spokesperson America can agree on: the beloved Maya Rudolph. We are confident Ms. Rudolph will champion the power of fun to create a world where everyone feels they belong.”
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A message from M&M'S. pic.twitter.com/EMucEBTd9o
— M&M'S (@mmschocolate) January 23, 2023
The M&Ms spokescandies have been dominating headlines as of late.
Conservatives began attacking the brand after it announced the release of candy packages with only the female characters Green, Brown, and the new Purple.
The limited edition packages show the three female characters upside down with the message “Supporting women flipping the status quo.” The packages would only contain green, brown, and purple M&Ms.
A chyron on Fox News on the show also noted that Green and Brown had once held hands in a 2015 ad and could be lesbians.
Fox host Tucker Carlson – who famously flipped out last year when the Green M&M was redesigned to be less sexy – called the new packaging “woke” and said that the Green M&M “is now a lesbian maybe?”
“And there’s also a plus-sized, obese purple M&M,” he said, referring to the new Purple character who is supposed to be a peanut M&M.
Daily Wire editor Ben Shapiro angrily asked, “Women, do you feel represented now because of the green, purple, and brown M&Ms? On the M&M package that you’re guzzling down lonely in your apartment with your wine and your cats? How’s that going for you?”
Last year, many also mocked the company for trying to make its characters more inclusive and essentially for taking itself too seriously.
At the time, Fox News Host Tucker Carlson derogatorily deemed the candies the “miserable, non-binary ” characters that are “all we deserve.”
“The other big change is that the brown M&M has ‘transitioned from high stilettos to lower block heels,’ also less sexy,” he continued, “That’s progress. M&Ms will not be satisfied until every last cartoon character is deeply unappealing and totally androgynous.
“Until the moment you wouldn’t want to have a drink with any one of them. That’s the goal. When you are totally turned off, we’ve achieved equity. They’ve won,” he said sarcastically.
Carlson wasn’t alone on the network’s airwaves in fixating on the candies’ supposed genders and identity changes. On Hannity, radio host Jimmy Failla made his debut on the show as a guest alongside upcoming weekend primetime host Lawrence Jones to talk about the chocolate crisis. The chyron for the segment read, “M&Ms Maker Mocked for Bizarre Rebranding Effort to Promote Inclusivity.”
Greg Gutfeld, the comedian who hosts FOX News’ late-night talk show Gutfeld!, spoke about “the woke M&Ms” later that night, lamenting that “When I eat a bag of M&MS, do I wonder which color and shape best represents my identity? No, because it’s [bleep]ing chocolate.”
“Will M&Ms still melt in your hand? They identify as trans,” Gutfeld claimed, going on to say, “If you really truly want to make an M&M feel like they belong, you probably shouldn’t be eating them. I mean, what kind of message does it send to children when you devour these non-binary bonbons?”
In the wake of its recent announcement, Twitter users blasted M&Ms for giving in to sexist and anti-LGBTQ+ trolls.
This is either
A) some sort of Joke I am not understanding.Or
B) a surrendering to some of the most toxic trolls on the internet over issues that both don’t matter and yet are still kinda too important to just give up and walk away from.
And I don’t know which… or both.
— jon_a_ross (@jon_a_ross) January 23, 2023
This post is going to cause that exact media storm you're warning against
— Ari Hawkins (@_AriHawkins) January 23, 2023
This is absolutely pathetic, @mmschocolate.
You're backing down from Tucker Carlson because he was sexually confused about your candy?!
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) January 23, 2023
Hey, M&Ms, this is A LOT of energy to expend just because Tucker couldn’t achieve tumescence without the help of a laser box after you put your candy in less sexy shoes.
— Jay Black (@jayblackisfunny) January 23, 2023
Tucker Carlson rn: pic.twitter.com/QlWQ1BXY55
— David MacLean (@GeordieStory) January 23, 2023
Let’s take the candy out of this. Your advertising was based on supporting women. You are now backing down from it because a conservative talk show host didn’t like supporting women.
See, if you take the candy out of it, it’s a pretty crappy thing you did.
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) January 23, 2023
Tucker Carlson owns M&Ms now, that's just science
— Gabe Rosenberg (@Gaber205) January 23, 2023
what a stupid silly country
— abdul 🌌📷 (@Advil) January 23, 2023
more like the spokescanceleds
— Jon Christian (@Jon_Christian) January 23, 2023
