money Walmart pulls Juneteenth ice cream after critics call it insensitive and a 'cheap copycat'
CINCINNATI – Walmart is pulling a store brand ice cream introduced to celebrate Juneteenth after critics decried the move as insensitive.
Walmart's blurb on the ice cream container, which had also appeared to trademark Juneteenth, said, "share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation and enduring hope."
Some people on social media noted the ice cream – a swirled red velvet cheesecake flavor – is similar to a flavor from a Black-owned and Cincinnati-based ice cream company Creamalicious, which sells its Right as Rain Red Velvet Cheesecake flavor in Walmart stores.
USA TODAY reached out to Walmart for comment.
Walmart was criticized on social media for its insensitivity toward the holiday. Juneteenth is a celebration of June 19, 1865, the emancipation of all those who had been enslaved in the United States. It was recognized as a federal holiday in 2021.
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Red food, red velvet cake and drink, like strawberry soda, is traditional when celebrating Juneteenth. Red, white and blue are on the Juneteenth flag, and the color red symbolizes that "from the middle passage to George Floyd, our blood has been spilled across America," Steve Williams, president of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation, previously told USA TODAY.
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Capitalism is a retail conglomerate, owned by a white billionaire family, marketing an ice cream to celebrate a holiday that commemorates the emancipation of slaves in a country that was literally built on the backs on slaves.
See: Walmart’s Juneteenth ice cream.— Dara Faye💀🌹 (@darafaye) May 23, 2022
Would you like some Juneteenth Ice cream on a Juneteenth plate as you sip your beer in a Juneteenth Koozie? pic.twitter.com/VCDpfOgYro
— Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) May 23, 2022
Deep heavy SPIRITUAL sigh! However.. that flavor 👀👀🌚 pic.twitter.com/fifKV04ffo
— Ja’Mon (@Ariesfirebomb) May 22, 2022
In all seriousness......
If you have seen the Juneteenth Ice Cream from Walmart, go ahead and grab some Creamalicious Red Velvet Cheesecake instead! Walmart could have used this opportunity to highlight this brand instead of making a cheap copycat for OUR Independence Day. pic.twitter.com/avlIkjvoOU— ThatBoyTay (@lifeofvontay) May 23, 2022
Walmart literally saw a successful small Black business and thought they could get away with stealing their flavor and re-branding it for Juneteenth.
Anyways, Creamalicious is available at Target. pic.twitter.com/y3DyzpYtGv— A is for Afro (@Amberisms_) May 23, 2022
Creamalicious was started by Cincinnati business owner Liz Rogers and is sold in major retailers around the country, including Walmart, Target, Meijer and other stores.
In a statement to Fox, Walmart apologized for the ice cream and said it will remove the product from stores.
"Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence," Walmart said in a statement to Fox. "However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize. We are reviewing our assortment and will remove items as appropriate."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Walmart pulls Juneteenth ice cream, critics point to Creamalicious
