It’s reasonable to conclude at this point that any and all references to Jeremy Lin and fortune cookies should probably be avoided.
Not long after Madison Square Garden found itself at the center of controversy for taking New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin’s face and pasting it onto a fortune cookie, Ben & Jerry’s weirdly decide to do the same thing last week. Predictably, they got hammered for their “insensitive” decision to associate Lin (an American-born Asian basketball player) with fortune cookies.
Here was the ice cream originally created in his honor (pay attention to the ingredients at the bottom):
(via)
Following a media onslaught, Ben & Jerry’s swapped out the ingredients and offered this statement (via the Los Angeles Times):
“On behalf of Ben & Jerry’s Boston Scoop Shops we offer a heartfelt apology if anyone was offended by our handmade Linsanity flavor that we offered at our Harvard Square location. We are proud and honored to have Jeremy Lin hail from one of our fine, local universities and we are huge sports fans. We were swept up in the nationwide Linsanity momentum. Our intention was to create a flavor to honor Jeremy Lin’s accomplishments and his meteoric rise in the NBA, and recognize that he was a local Harvard graduate. We try demonstrate our commitment as a Boston-based, values-led business and if we failed in this instance we offer our sincere apologies.”
Here is the new Linsanity ice cream:
(via)
The lesson here? Stop associating Lin and fortune cookies, apparently. (Don’t say the AAJA didn’t warn you).
Related Content
Is Ben & Jerry’s Fortune Cookie Jeremy Lin Ice Cream Racist?
Maryland Recruit Stefon Diggs: "Get Off Jeremy Lin Egg Roll and Dumplings"
Video: Manny Pacquiao Likes Jeremy Lin Because He’s Asian, Apparently
Jeremy Lin “Chink in the Armor” Culprits Fired, Suspended; Did Punishments Fit Crimes?