Ben & Jerry’s latest flavor gains controversy in grocery stores
Ben & Jerry’s is getting some heat with its new Schweddy Balls flavor. Pictured above is the Vermont-based ice cream company’s less controversial flavor Bonnaroo Buzz Ice Cream.
Family organizations and some supermarkets aren't laughing about Ben & Jerry's latest ice cream flavor.
The company's release of Schweddy Balls have led to the conservative Christian group One Million Moms' calling to boycott the product. Some stores refuse to stock the product, The Associated Press reports.
"The vulgar new flavor has turned something as innocent as ice cream into something repulsive," the organization wrote on their website.
But Ben & Jerry's is taking the criticism with a grain of salt.
"The name is irreverent," Ben & Jerry's spokesman Sean Greenwood said. "We're not trying to offend people. Our fans get the humor." Greenwood told the AP the new Schweddy Balls flavor has become the most popular limited-edition product Ben & Jerry's have ever made.
The vanilla ice cream that comes with fudge covered rum and milk chocolate malt balls was inspired by a 1998 SNL skit featuring Alec Baldwin as a baker whose lines come as thinly veiled sexual remarks.
The Vermont-based ice cream company is not new to play on words. Previous flavors have included Karamel Sutra and Hubby Hubby, renamed from their staple Chubby Hubby flavor in honor of gay marriage in their state.