Kroger Responds After Georgia Juneteenth Cakes Go Viral
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A Kroger spokesperson responded to viral backlash over Juneteenth cakes sold in one Georgia grocery store in a statement to Newsweek on Thursday.
Why It Matters
Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, became an official federal holiday in 2021, though it has been celebrated in African American communities since the 1860s. It marks the date on which Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and officially freed slaves from the westernmost part of the Confederacy.
What To Know
Kroger, a popular grocery store chain, drew backlash after a viral video showed what many viewed as poorly decorated cakes for the Juneteenth holiday. The video, posted to TikTok on Thursday by @blaq.monalis, had been viewed seven million times by Thursday and garnered over 850,000 likes on the social media platform.
"This is some bulls***," she said in the video. "Who the hell made these ugly-a** s***? I wish there was a manager here because ya'll decorate everything else around here cute. Everything else around here cute, but for Juneteenth you want to just throw something on a freaking cookie cake and expect someone to buy it? That's bulls***."
The video showed several cookie cakes with minimal decoration and sloppy piping, featuring text such as "Free @ Last" or "June 19 FREE." One cake simply read, "FREE."
@blaq.monalisa
Kroger count your days. Why even bother if you're going to lack creativity. This is Kroger on Howell mill rd, Atlanta Ga. This is a mockery! Am I tripping, someone let me know! ♬ original sound - blaq monalisa
In a statement to Newsweek, a Kroger spokesperson addressed the backlash.
"The cakes and cookies that were featured in the video were inconsistent with our provided guidance and not of the quality we would expect to see from our stores. The products have been removed, and we've addressed this directly with the store teams and the customer who took the initial video," the statement reads.
The cakes drew a mix of criticism and ridicule on TikTok, with some users describing the lazy nature of the designs as offensive. Others, however, found a bit of humor in the situation.
What People Are Saying
@Rosegotsoul commented on TikTok: "This is funny but NOT funny. I'm highly disappointed in Kroger."
TikTok user Savannah Bryant commented: "ATP fire the whole bakery cuz that's deliberate."
@MINA commented on TikTok: "Bc yk when 4th of July comes its finna be america's next top chef designs up in there."
@L'lori made a video responding to the cakes: "This is a beautiful find of just absolute laziness. Absolute laziness. To be honest, you could have did absolutely nothing and the people would have been just as fine. Cause just slapping s*** to make a buck is like, come on now. It's very tone deaf, Kroger, and I'm very disappointed."
@itskylahh commented on TikTok: "This shouldn't be this funny."
Main: A customer walks into a Kroger grocery store in Houston, Texas, on September 9, 2022. Inset: A Juneteenth flag flying in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 2024.
Main: A customer walks into a Kroger grocery store in Houston, Texas, on September 9, 2022. Inset: A Juneteenth flag flying in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 2024.; MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images
On Reddit, u/massive_chem commented: "They don't decorate everything else there cute. She goes over and shows cakes that come in pre decorated. Everything she thinks is 'cute' came in the store looking like that. It looks like they don't have an experienced cake decorator."
Reddit user u/Mrs_hippiequeen commented: "i mean, i don't think it's racially motivated or anything. looks like someone told the closer (non-decorator) to fill a table at the end of the night. they are really bad. we haven't been instructed to do anything for juneteenth at my store, so it's possible it was a last minute thing."
What Happens Next
The original poster shared an update on TikTok showing that the cookie cakes had been removed from the grocery store. She added, "I still feel some type of way that they didn't replace it with better Juneteenth cakes."
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