Krispy Kreme Doughnut Chain Apologizes for England Location Promoting 'KKK Wednesday' to Children
Krispy Kreme issued an apology on Tuesday following the backlash it received after a store in the United Kingdom advertised a promotional event titled "KKK Wednesday."
The popular doughnut chain caused a stir on social media after the company's United Kingdom Facebook page posted promotion for a new Krispy Kreme Klub for children dubbed as "KKK Wednesday" at a store in Hull, England. In response, social media users quickly made note of the double meaning behind the term "KKK," which is infamously associated with the Ku Klux Klan, an American white supremacist hate group.
The Krispy Kreme location also rented a billboard displaying the "KKK Wednesday" titled, according to the Hull Daily Mail.
"We do believe this was a completely unintentional oversight on the part of our longtime franchise partners in the U.K.," said Krispy Kreme spokesperson Lafeea Watson in a statement, according to USA TODAY. "We are truly sorry for any inconvenience or offense this misstep may have caused our fans."
The statement added that the Hull location would be "taking greater precautions with their publicity materials in the future." Watson also explained that the children's club was created by the Hull location in the St Stephen's Shopping Centre and designed as a promotion for that store only.
However, the post has since been removed from Facebook while the store has taken down all promotional materials.
"We have now taken down the sign from our point of sale," said a spokeswoman.
The spokesperson added that the campaign will still be launched this week as plan although it needed a new name.The club will offer children the opportunity to decorate their own doughnuts.
"We don't have a new name for the event yet but it is still going ahead this week," the spokeswoman explained.
Krispy Kreme offered a formal apology Tuesday night.
"Krispy Kreme apologises unreservedly for the inappropriate name of a customer promotion at one of our stores. This promotion was never intended to cause offence. All material has been withdrawn and an internal investigation is currently under way," the statement says.
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