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Yesterday, in what was supposed to be an innocuous (and possibly humorous) show of support for the late Carrie Fisher — better known to some as Star Wars’ Princess Leia, heroine, and hair fashion plate — ooey gooey cinnamon bun purveyor Cinnabon released a tweet (now deleted) into the galaxy:
This was the Cinnabon tweet that people got super upset about. Have fun explaining this to your kids. NSFW pic.twitter.com/UsZBlCZY2J
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) December 27, 2016
It wasn’t the first time the company evoked Leia’s swirled hair buns in a tweet, but on the day of actress Carrie Fisher’s death the new tweet didn’t sit well with Twitter users. A few hours later the Georgia-based company’s social media team deleted the offending tweet and issued an apology.
Our deleted tweet was genuinely meant as a tribute, but we shouldn't have posted it. We are truly sorry.
— Cinnabon (@Cinnabon) December 28, 2016
But the damage was done.
@Cinnabon this is the worst taste ever. Someone should be fire for this and the deleted tweet. #fail
— Melanie Simmons (@mlsimmons) December 27, 2016
@Cinnabon @IMTerrenceKing Who the heck is running your twitter account? No, that didn't make me laugh. She DIED for Christ's sake.
— J. R. Tomlin (@JRTomlinAuthor) December 28, 2016
@Cinnabon yeah, no. Using the death of an icon for ads at the day of her passing shows very little class.
— Drumpfelstiltskin (@LZipher) December 27, 2016
@Cinnabon what 49 year old "social media expert" thought this was a good idea? #poortaste
— Andrew Morton (@mortocks) December 28, 2016
Seems the double entendre of what the word “buns” can stand for was too much for some mortals. And then there’s the idea that using a death to promote a product or brand seems in poor taste.
Others, though, noted that Fisher herself would likely have found the tweet amusing.
@BarstoolBigCat everything I know about Carrie Fisher tells me she would have laughed at that tweet
— Geoff (@Dood_Mansky) December 27, 2016
I feel like Carrie Fisher would have gotten a kick out of the Cinnabon tweet to be honest.
— Calvin (@calvinstowell) December 27, 2016
I sincerely doubt Carrie Fisher would've gotten worked up over that Cinnabon tweet
— Ira Madison III (@ira) December 27, 2016
But maybe food brands on Twitter need to slow down and take a step back. No one likes an ambulance chaser.
• @Cinnabon [Twitter]
• More Controversies on Eater [E]
