Hershey’s Chooses Transgender Representative To “Honor” International Women’s Day

Social media users  lashed out at candy company Hershey’s after it released a pro-transgender ad for its chocolate bars in honor of International Women’s Day.

Fae Johnstone, the LGBTQ advocate, trans woman, and face of Hershey’s “International Women’s Day” ad campaign. Screenshot/Twitter
© Screenshot/Twitter

Disturbed Twitter users slammed the new ad for showing a transgender woman as Hershey’s embodiment of the pro-female celebration.

The ad revealed Wednesday as part of Hershey’s Canada’s “Her for She” campaign in honor of International Women’s Day on March 8. The short spot advertised trans woman Fae Johnstone – who it noted is a “2SLGBTQUIA+ Advocate” – promoting Hershey’s new female-themed wrapper.

In the video clip, Johnstone was displayed posing with the limited-edition candy bar while providing a voiceover describing the inclusivity initiative. The trans woman exclaimed, “My name is Fae Johnstone, I’m the executive director of ‘Wisdom to Action.’ We can create a world where everyone is able to live in public space as their honest and authentic selves.”

“To celebrate International Women’s Day- Hersheys uses a MAN in their advert to advertise their new women’s chocolate range ‘Her For She,'” one Twitter user tweeted.

“You get the feeling that these companies *always* despised women,” another tweeted.

As the short ad ended, it displayed Johnstone posing and laughing next to several biological women. The voiceover ended with an invitation for viewers to view Hershey’s Canada’s International Women’s Day campaign on its website.

#BoycottHershey’s trended No. 1 on Twitter Thursday after the chocolate giant featured a transgenderwoman in its International Women’s Day promotion.

Fae Johnstone, a biological male who identifies as female, is one of the five women at the center of a Canadian advertising video promoting Hershey’s SHE bar.