16 Handles got an ice-cold reception from its fro-yo fans on the night of the final presidential debate.
The frozen yogurt chain apologized Wednesday after sending an email to subscribers three hours before the debate with the subject line “We’re Making Fro-Yo Great Again,” a play on the campaign slogan of Republican nominee Donald Trump. The email also contained an ad that read “Grab ‘em by the fro-yo,” a reference to lewd comments Trump has made about women.
People immediately took to Twitter to express dismay at the tasteless marketing.
Some took the email’s subject line to be an endorsement of Trump’s candidacy:
More still were maddened by the advertisement’s tagline, which echoed Trump’s now notorious words from a 2005 conversation with then-”Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush. During the video recording, Trump boasted of kissing women without their consent and grabbing women “by the pussy.”
Since those comments surfaced, and before, a number of women have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct against the presidential candidate.
Three hours after the original email went out, 16 Handles sent a follow-up message apologizing.
“We messed up, and we’re sorry,” the company wrote. “We do not endorse any presidential candidates, nor their statements or actions. In an attempt to facetiously reference pop culture, we made a callous mistake. We apologize for the offense we have caused, and we would like to remind our customers that we oppose all forms of sexual abuse and harassment.”
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularlyincitespolitical violence and is a
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