Innocent smoothies threatened with boycott after declaring support for trans rights and basic human decency
Innocent Drinks said it ‘stands against discrimination’. (ERIC PIERMONT/AFP via Getty Images)
Smoothie company Innocent Drinks has clarified that it supports transgender people not being discriminated against after reportedly unfollowing a pensioner who shared anti-trans content.
Yes, really.
Innocent posted a public statement on Twitter on 2 February to say “we stand against discrimination”, alongside the pink, white and blue trans Pride flag emoji.
“We’re working hard to make Innocent as inclusive as possible,” the brand said.
The Innocent Drinks statement, which has been liked nearly 20,000 times, continued: “Over the years we’ve followed a lot of people on here, and from time to time we’ve unfollowed some too.
“The other day we unfollowed a Twitter account because content on their feed about trans people wasn’t in line with our values of inclusivity and respect. This made some people on Twitter quite cross.
“We’ve still got work to do, but we believe everyone should be protected from discrimination. We will continue to make sure that our social media channels remain fair and inclusive.
“It’s on all of us to make sure everyone can live happy, free lives and we will keep working towards a world where that’s a reality.”
We stand against discrimination?️⚧️ pic.twitter.com/xAWca1Wak5
— innocent drinks (@innocent) February 2, 2021
Notwithstanding that trans people are legally protected from discrimination by the Equality Act 2010, not by whether or not a smoothie company believes they should be protected, Innocent’s statement follows that of several brands who have come out to say they support trans rights.
The alleged account in question that Innocent unfollowed has since been made private, but not before Margaret Nelson, whose name is on the account, confirmed that she would not be suing Innocent. On what grounds her legal case would rest remains unclear.
But a supporter of Nelson called “Robbie #IStandWithJKRowling” has said that “IMO this is defamation”, so perhaps Innocent Drinks is in trouble after all.
Nelson’s anti-trans Twitter activity included, in 2018, telling author Philip Pullman that “transgenderism is an ideology” and “trans people are deluded”.
Wait, this is about innocent unfollowing some random? Not even a well known anti-trans nightmare, this Maggie person?
It’s a companies social media adverts. Who gives a shit?— What The Trans!? (@WhatTheTrans) February 2, 2021
Predictably, anti-trans Twitter is threatening to boycott Innocent Drinks.
However, previous boycotts of brands that support trans rights have tended to be wildly unsuccessful. Perhaps because, although they are loud, anti-trans people on Twitter are not representative of broad public support for trans rights in the UK.
Hi, I’d just like to say thank you for being more vocal on trans rights than my employer, my family, and even my own government.
I imagine this is going to lead to a laughable “boycott” by transphobes.At least I hope so. More smoothies for me and my fellow trans pals ???
— Mia Violet (@OhMiaGod) February 2, 2021
