That #BoycottHershey Campaign Explained (It’s Not About Chocolate)

After Hershey’s Canada announced that Fae Johnstone, a trans woman, would be one of five women featured in Hershey’s Canada’s International Women’s Day campaign, #BoycottHershey began to trend on Twitter, an apparent conservative backlash.

Hershey’s Canada launched the HER for SHE campaign on Wednesday with limited edition wrappers featuring the likenesses of five Canadian women, including Johnstone.

Johnstone, a professional LGBTQ+ advocate and award-winning trans activist, announced her part in the campaign Wednesday saying, “I hope this campaign helps give more young women and girls role models and possibility models.”

The #BoycottHersheys hashtag started trending on Twitter with some arguing Hershey’s Canada should exclusively be celebrating biological women.