Andrew Christian–the founder and designer of his men's underwear and swimwear company, popular among gay men–was scrutinized for allegedly exploiting the Ukraine crisis to promote his clothing line.
Christian recently posted a photo on Instagram of him holding up his latest design for a pair of briefs–featuring the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.
A lucky recipient who donated to benefit the Ukrainian cause was to receive the undies signed by Christian.
“I’m giving away a custom pair of autographed underwear I created in support of the [sic] Ukraine to 1 person randomly," he wrote in the promotional post.
"All you have to do is tell me in the comments what Ukrainian charity you’ve donated to and why you support… 🇺🇦 #ukraine #prayforukraine #standwithukraine”
The backside of the skivvy had the founder's signature and the hashtag, #UKRAINE, written by a Sharpie.
While the post was, at its heart, meant to encourage people to support the Ukrainian civilians whose lives were upended when Russian military forces invaded the country, some considered the company's activism was a bit out of touch.
The subsequent backlash for the brand's questionable effort included a comment from one sarcastic follower, who wrote, "Wow activism at its finest."
One person remarked, "Absolute cringe," and another said, "This isn't it," of the undies contest.
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
Others asked about the brand's humanitarian efforts for other countries in the midst of conflict.
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
However, the underwear contest wasn't entirely soiled by the broadside.
Many people participated and revealed the various methods through which they showed their support for Ukraine.
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
To mitigate the backlash, the brand clarified its good intentions to the gay adult film site, The Sword:
“Andrew Christian has also donated to charities that are helping Ukraine. We apologize for not making that clear in the post."
"However, we did not want people to think we were trying to take advantage of the unfortunate humanitarian crisis and precarious political situation by touting our own donations.”
Since the Russian/Ukrainian conflict started, the company announced they made donations to organizations like OutrightInternational.org, an LGBTQ charity helping Ukraine; Razom, a charity supporting Ukrainiane’s democratic efforts; and the Red Cross, the humanitarian aid organization.
As of Friday, the contest was closed after a winner was chosen.
@andrewchristianintl/Instagram
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U.S. Mint