Magnum Ice Cream Apologizes For Comparing Eating Ice Cream To Being Imprisoned For Being Gay

(image via Magnum Ice Cream)

After receiving a ton of heat on social media, Magnum Ice Cream has issued an apology for a Spotify ad in the U.K. that compared the 'guilty pleasure' of eating ice cream to gay people being imprisoned.

In the spot, a voiceover says, “A hug for my boyfriend—that’s my guilty pleasure. Because in my country, just a simple hug with the man I love could send me to prison for more than 10 years.”

The ad didn't specify which country by name.

Folks on social media clapped back calling the spot "racist" and "homophobic."

@MagnumIceCream your advert comparing the potential to be killed if you're gay to the guilty pleasure of eating a magnum is disgusting, racist and homophobic. Please withdraw it immediately.

— nell blane (@firegoat67) August 5, 2019

At the beginning of the backlash, a Magnum spokesperson told Newsweek that the aim of the spot was “to remind people that what is considered a guilty pleasure isn’t always what you would expect.”

A Magnum spokesperson has now issued a statement apologizing for the ad.

“Magnum has a history of championing LGBTQ+ rights and Pride Month is a moment when lots of us celebrate progress," read the statement. "We’re sorry for any offence caused by the advert, which aimed to bring awareness to the injustices people still face around the world."