NEWSWEEK – Doritos on Tuesday confirmed that it had parted ways with a transgender influencer, but said that the decision was not the result of the [so-called] transphobic backlash the partnership generated online.
For a recent social media advertising campaign dubbed “Crunch Talks,” Doritos Spain, which falls under PepsiCo Spain’s branch of products, recently featured 24-year-old transgender singer and influencer Samantha Hudson in a 50-second branded video on Instagram.
The video, in turn, became the subject of transphobic online backlash, with predominantly right-wing and far-right accounts calling for a boycott of the popular snack food brand.
Many of the angry posts specifically cited last year’s calls to boycott the Bud Light beer brand and its parent company Anheuser-Busch after they sponsored a single short Instagram video with a transgender influencer.
The calls came amid a notable increase in transphobic rhetoric from conservative voices and a greater push for anti-trans legislation from conservative lawmakers. While the boycott has been credited in part for the downturn in sales for Bud Light, other attempted boycotts in the wake of it had much less impact.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, a spokesperson for Doritos Spain confirmed that the video featuring Hudson was deleted and that the company has parted ways with her [sic] as a brand partner. The company stressed, however, that the decision was not in any way due to Hudson’s gender identity, but instead because of her controversial past comments of which the company had been unaware.
“We have ended the relationship and stopped all related campaign activity due to the comments,” the spokesperson told Rolling Stone. “We strongly condemn words or actions that promote violence or sexism of any kind.”
Newsweek reached out to Frito Lay, owner of the Doritos brand, via email on Tuesday evening for comment. Any responses received will be added to this article in a later update … READ MORE.
I Ate 9 Bags of Off-Brand Doritos to Find the Best Ones
Allison T.S. Robicelli, Feb. 08, 2024
TASTE OF HOME – Do any off-brand Doritos compare to the real deal? I put nine contenders (and my stomach) to the test.
The taste of Doritos is like no other. Do they taste like cheesy goodness? Kinda. Salt? Most definitely. Doritos are not “good for you” and have never pretended to be. Even though Doritos weren’t originally cheese-flavored, the chips can now be the basis for outrageous nachos or cheesy Doritos chicken tenders. Doritos are what they are, and they are glorious.
Finding the Best Off-Brand Doritos
Though Doritos are a singular entity, there are plenty of knock-off versions that are beautiful in their own right. Some aspire to be a “better-for-you” version of the junk food classic, ostensibly to make you feel slightly better about housing an entire bag in a single sitting. (No judgment here!)
Others are meant for special diets, because even people on keto deserve Doritos. And then there are my favorites: store brands that deliver all the flavor at a fraction of the price. (With two teenage boys, I already have a hefty Dorito budget, but it can only be pushed so far.)
To help you navigate the wide world of off-brand Doritos, I selflessly ate nine bags of chips all by myself to determine which are acceptable substitutes:
- From the Ground Up
- Sprouts
- Beanitos
- Siete
- Beanfields
- Clancy’s
- Zack’s Mighty
- Late July
- Pacqui
It was hard work, but the knowledge that I was doing this for the greater good made every bite worth it …
