Lingerie brand Honey Birdette took to social media to give a pointed response to criticisms about one of its latest ad campaigns for its designs.
In a recent Instagram ad, seen below, the brand featured nonbinary model and burlesque performer Jake Dupree showing off a Honey Birdette bra, panties, garters and stockings in a burlesque-style photo.
You can probably guess how that went over with certain segments of the population--the brand, and Dupree themself, were hit with major backlash from conservatives, much of it virulently transphobic in nature.
The ad's comments, which have since been restricted, filled with irate discussions of "what a 'real' woman is," calls for a boycott, and of course, accusations that Honey Birdette and Dupree are "groomers."
Meanwhile, several conservative commentators took to Twitter to lambaste Dupree and the lingerie brand and to mock its claim that it makes lingerie "by women, for women." The brand has since changed its tagline to "A luxury lingerie brand for all!"
That progressive, inclusive change was the only concession they were willing to make amid the uproar, however. In the wake of the right wing's temper tantrum, the company altered the caption on Dupree's Instagram ad to make it crystal clear they have no interest in bowing to conservatives' bizarre obsession with gender.
The caption now reads:
"**UPDATE: Honey Birdette fosters an inclusive and diverse environment, and we will continue to use our voice to empower and support the LGBTQ+ community, women, and anyone who wants to feel fabulous in our lingerie."
"While thoughtful and constructive discussions are important to push culture forward, hate speech and bullying will not be tolerated on our channels. Comments of this negative nature will be deleted."
"@jakedupree, you are so talented and have our full support! ❤️**"
On Twitter, many people took conservatives to task for their outrage about the lingerie ad.
\u201cThis doesn\u2019t bother me in the slightest. It\u2019s a store solely for 18+ adults, nothing they sell is for children. Honey Birdette has always leaned into burlesque aesthetics, & the model in question is a world famous burlesque performer. It makes complete marketing sense to use him.\u201d— Liberal, Not Lefty (@Liberal, Not Lefty) 1681314851
\u201c@PinkNews They look gorgeous and the undies are shown off in the best light. Also, shows that the lingerie will fit and support any body. Good on them and model \ud83d\ude0a\u201d— PinkNews (@PinkNews) 1681403771
\u201c@PinkNews They look stunning \u2764\ufe0f\u201d— PinkNews (@PinkNews) 1681403771
\u201cThey are a very well known and successful burlesque dancer. This is 100% appropriate advertisement for their brand. Well done @HoneyBirdette \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffb\u201d— Benjamin Bertram (@Benjamin Bertram) 1681371599
\u201cThis person looks amazing! ily @HoneyBirdette \n\nIf you\u2019re pressed by how they dress that sounds like your problem \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25\u201d— Dominatrix Rin \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25 (@Dominatrix Rin \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25) 1681346537
\u201c@sfDomme @HoneyBirdette My hubs actually ran to show me this the other night he was like 'Look! How awesome!'\u201d— Dominatrix Rin \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25 (@Dominatrix Rin \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25) 1681346537
\u201c@sfDomme @HoneyBirdette Jake DuPree looks so good in lingerie!\u201d— Dominatrix Rin \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25 (@Dominatrix Rin \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25) 1681346537
\u201c@sfDomme @HoneyBirdette They look beautiful idc what other people think\u201d— Dominatrix Rin \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25 (@Dominatrix Rin \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25) 1681346537
\u201cMy favourite lingerie brand, killing it every time \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffc\n\nLove this @HoneyBirdette\u201d— S (@S) 1681336627
The ad featuring Jake Dupree has since gone on to be one of Honey Birdette's most-liked posts on its Instagram page. So much for those boycotts.
@sama/X
