Bud Light deleted a St. Patrick’s Day tweet Tuesday afternoon after it was panned for seemingly making light of sexual consent issues, in the latest flap by a major brand on social media.
The tweet featured a group of women in green clothing holding a giant Bud Light-branded picture frame. The text of the tweet read, “On #StPatricksDay you can pinch people who don’t wear green. You can also pinch people who aren’t #UpForWhatever.”
Some on Twitter took issue with what they saw as the wrong message being sent about consent and bodily contact:
https://twitter.com/Tregellex/status/577888776858517504
.@budlight I'm up for a good tutorial about consent and assault, are you? #UpForWhatever
— Thierry Côté (@tcote) March 17, 2015
Not to mention the notion that we can punish people who are not #UpForWhatever – really not ok. @budlight
— Clare Cady (@ClareCady) March 17, 2015
Bud Light deleted the tweet but had not commented as of mid-afternoon Tuesday.
The beer brand is hardly the only one to pull a tweet after it sparked controversy online. Frozen pizza company DiGiorno found itself in hot water last year for making a joke pegged to a hashtag that was being widely used to talk about domestic violence.