Food trends run from weird to wonderful. But rarely do they bring together such a diverse bunch as a controversial TV pundit, the LGBT community and a sandwich some are calling “pathetic.”
All three are the focus of a bizarre new Twitter debate surrounding the LGBT sandwich, a new pre-packaged variety offered in supermarkets of British chain Marks and Spencer that caused a major stir on social media over the weekend.
A spin on the classic bacon-lettuce-tomato BLT sandwich, this latest wedge matches the letters of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) acronym with lettuce, guacamole, bacon and tomato.
M&S, selling the sandwiches for around US$4.50, says the sandwiches will help raise funds for a LGBT homeless charity.
“We have given our popular BLT sandwich a twist to celebrate Pride and raise US$13000 for […] the national LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness charity,” said the company, known for its ready-made sandwiches.
But the charitable effort didn’t stop controversial TV pundit Piers Morgan from taking to Twitter to express his disgust at the sandwiches, which he reduced to being merely “gay”.
“Gay sandwiches? Is there no cynical virtue-signalling depth struggling companies won’t now plunge to make a profit? Shame on you @marksandspencer, this is truly pathetic,” he wrote in a Tweet that has been liked almost 8,000 times.
As with everything, the LGBT sandwiches have divided opinions on social media.
Some people think it’s harmless, with one person tweeting: “I for one love that @marksandspencer made an LGBT sandwich and I, for one, will eat nothing else until pride season is over.”
But a large number of people aren’t particularly happy — even though they don’t exactly agree with Piers Morgan either.
“LGBT people: ‘it’d be nice if people could stop abusing us when we hold hands in public, we could teach LGBT lessons in schools and if the BBC could stop debating our existence on live air that’d be grea- Capitalism: ‘what we’re really sensing here is you want your own sandwich’,” jokes Louis Staples, whose tweet has been liked 73,000 times.
Many other people shared their views that M&S are simply trying to make money out of an identity and culture. – dpa
