An American actor has received a wave of disapproval on social media after he commented on the rebranding of Aunt Jemima syrups in a video.
“Aunt Jemima, yummy, pancake syrup. You used to see a great African American boss, but because of the inherent racism in American corporate culture, they decided to make her a white person or maybe not a person at all,” director actor Ben Stein said in a video posted on Truth Social, the social network founded by former US President Donald Trump.
The 78-year-old, who is known for his roles in Ferris Bueller’s ‘The Mask’ and ‘Mad Day’, said he “preferred it was a black person who was theirs,” according to Your EDaily News demonstrated incredible pancake-making skills.”
Those few words nonetheless earned him the wrath of Internet users, who rushed to set the record straight.
“A perfect example of ‘if you don’t know the context and story behind a conversation, you should just shut up and listen,'” reacted a first netizen.
In 2020, Aunt Jemima Syrup was renamed the Pearl Milling Company and its design revised after 130 years to promote racial equality.
Because the character depicted on the bottles represented the stereotype of the “mammy”, a black woman of large stature who likes to serve her white masters.
“”I like MY pancake syrup served from a bottle that’s literally too racist” — Ben Stein,” retorted a second.
“Is anyone surprised Ben Stein is racist? Someone? Someone? firecrackers?” added a third.
Even actress Ellen Barkin, best known for her role in the Animal Kingdom series, responded by saying, “Please don’t call Ben Stein an actor. He makes us all look bad.”