PepsiCo has ended a partnership between its Doritos crisps brand and the Spanish transgender influencer Samantha Hudson.
The decision was made after deleted sexist and offensive posts made by Hudson in 2015 were recirculated on X.
Marketing officials working on the Doritos brand in Spain had been working on a “content series” with Hudson, PepsiCo said in a statement.
Reports by Rolling Stone indicate the two parties were developing a promotional video series called ‘Crunch Talks’.
When asked for comment by Just Food, a spokesperson for the Doritos brand in Spain said: “After the campaign started, we were made aware of Samantha’s deleted tweets from around 2015. We have ended the relationship and stopped all related campaign activity due to the comments. We strongly condemn words or actions that promote violence, or sexism of any kind.”
The brand had posted a video on Instagram featuring the influencer on Sunday (3 March), which was then removed on Monday as the historic posts resurfaced, a PepsiCo spokesperson told RollingStone.
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles
on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Company Profile – free
sample
Your download email will arrive shortly
We are confident about the
unique
quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most
beneficial
decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by
submitting the below form
By GlobalData
They added the move was not made as a result of Hudson being transgender and was solely linked to the derogatory nature of her past remarks.
Just Food has asked PepsiCo to confirm how long the partnership had been in place. It is unclear how long the collaboration was intended to last.
Responding to the resurfaced historic posts on X yesterday (6 March), Hudson said she had “already apologised” for the comments “a few years ago”, and that they had been made “with the intention of attracting attention using very unfortunate topics… which are totally out of place, unpleasant and offensive”.
She added: “I take responsibility for what I wrote but I cannot help but also express how unfair it seems to me that a person is being judged so exorbitantly for some publications he made nine years ago when he was still a minor”.
Last year, a promotion for US beer brand Bud Light featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked a transphobic backlash.
A video posted on Mulvaney’s Instagram page showcased special-edition Bud Light beers featuring her face, which she said the company sent to mark her one-year anniversary since transitioning.
However, the partnership was followed by a backlash from some US conservatives who called for a boycott of the brand.
Sales of Bud Light dropped and owner Anheuser-Busch InBev admitted last month it expects the brand to still see the effects of the controversy in 2024
