Juneteenth and ice cream go together, right? Um, no.
Social media went in after a picture of Walmart’s Great Value Brand Juneteenth ice cream was snapped.
The dessert is a part of Great Value’s “Celebration Edition.” The ice cream has a Red Velvet and cheesecake flavor. The label says the sweet treat is intended to “share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation, and enduring hope.”
Juneteenth ice cream.? Nothing says the end of slavery in Texas like cheesecake and red velvet ice cream. Time to rejoice my people 🥴 pic.twitter.com/1bbJeazOSk
— William D. Ward CalBRE# 01967124 (@wardrealestate) May 22, 2022
The comments came rolling in.
One person wrote, “The gentrification of Juneteenth is on the way brought to you by @Walmart. I’m also looking at the little TM symbol next to Juneteenth with so many questions (sigh). Do you not have any trademark attorneys who advised against this? Or do y’all just not care?”
Another person tweeted, “Convinced that Juneteenth (TM) Ice Cream is a sketch from Spike Lee’s Bamboozled that was left on the cutting floor. Ain’t no way @Walmart execs said, “Let’s commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S. by monetizing a cheap brand of ice cream.” And attempt to trademark the holiday.”
Walmart listened. After several days of online backlash, the ice cream will be pulled.
A statement from Walmart said, “Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence. 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.”
