Krispy Kreme offered free doughnuts to people who get COVID vaccinations. It led to some strange backlash.
Krispy Kreme is giving out free doughnuts to people with vaccine cards.
Some people on Twitter reacted negatively to the offer, pointing out the health effects.
Others called out those initial posts for missing the point and being fatphobic.
Related: How Krispy Kreme makes over 20M doughnuts a year
Krispy Kreme announced it would give out a free glazed doughnut to anyone with a COVID-19 vaccination card beginning on March 22. And it was met with an almost immediate - and unexpected - backlash on the internet.
Most criticisms of the donut chain's offer centered on the potential for a vaccinated person to get a free doughnut every day for the rest of the year, or nearly 300 doughnuts. Many of the critics were doctors, or people with large social media followings.
First, if someone indeed eats an Original Glazed #KrispyKreme donut every day as your offer provides, and changed no other aspects of their diet/exercise, they'd gain approximately 15 pounds by the end of 2021.
I'm sure that's not your intention. (2/4)https://t.co/220RPIkL2V— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) March 24, 2021
Public health professor and former Baltimore health commissioner Dr. Leana Wen tweeted about Krispy Kreme's campaign, writing that a person who ate a doughnut every day without making other lifestyle changes could gain 15 lbs. by the end of the year.
Others pointed out that obesity is a risk factor for COVID-19, and eating doughnuts every day could lead to obesity. At one point "obesity" was a trending topic on Twitter.
Obesity is one of the primary factors that affects your response to COVID and these fuckers are giving away a donut a day if you’re vaccinated. Everything is so dumb. https://t.co/4j6i50VNFH
— Bridget Phetasy (@BridgetPhetasy) March 22, 2021
Krispy Kreme offering free doughnuts for getting vaccinated is like Marlboro offering free cigarettes for getting a flu shot. We have an obesity epidemic in this country that is killing us. Corporations that ride the COVID-19 vaccine as a marketing ploy for junk food is terrible.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) March 22, 2021
Great...so now after protecting folks from Covid we will get an exacerbated diabetes & obesity pandemic on top of the viral one...😅
They are hard to resist...
Krispy Kreme will give you a free doughnut every day this year — if you've been vaccinated https://t.co/oecW5N8Ub3— Daniel Kraft, MD (@daniel_kraft) March 22, 2021
While some Twitter users with big followings criticized Krispy Kreme, the majority of tweets called out those initial critiques.
Krispy Kreme: Hey, guess what? Get vaccinated and we'll give you a free doughnut whenever you stop by for the rest of the year. Neat, right?
People who feel the need to insert themselves into everything: In this essay, I will explain why doughnuts are worse than the pandemic— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) March 24, 2021
Today I’m blocking doctors who insult Krispy Kreme. I cannot take the performative activism.
— Omnintensivist (@GoodishIntent) March 24, 2021
This is why people hate doctors. Who is reasonable trekking to Krispy Kreme EVERY SINGLE DAY for ONE donut in a PANASONIC? Just say you hate fat people and go goddamn. All this concern trolling over something people *might* do? https://t.co/WcpbiDWJf4
— 🌈📽️🇹🇹✨Catherine Young (@battymamzelle) March 24, 2021
Krispy Kreme has largely avoided commenting on the debate, except to note that people don't need to get a doughnut every day, and many won't be eligible for months anyway.
"Like many sweet treats, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts are an occasional indulgence best enjoyed in moderation. And we know that's how most of our guests enjoy our doughnuts. We're certainly not asking people to get a free Original Glazed doughnut every day, we're just making it available through the end of the year, especially given that not every group is eligible to get vaccinated yet" the company said in a statement to Insider.
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