Goya Foods Boycott Takes Off After CEO Kisses Up To Trump
#BoycottGoya immediately began trending on Twitter
If you’ve never bought Goya products, now’s not the time to start. Goya CEO Robert Unanue spoke at the White House this week as a part of Trump administration’s White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative, and his speech ruffled more than a few feathers with his words of praise for the president.
The initiative, which Trump said will “improve Hispanic Americans’ access to educational and economic opportunities,” kicked off with several speakers — and the most controversial seems to be Unanue. During his brief talk, he said, “We’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump who is a builder. And so we have an incredible builder, and we pray — we pray for our leadership, our President, and we pray for our country that we will continue to prosper and to grow.”
Say what now?
Goya Foods, which touts itself as the “largest, Hispanic-owned food company in the United States,” was estimated to be worth $1.1 billion in 2014, according to Forbes. Their popular products, which highlight Spanish and Latin American flavors, had almost a cult-like following here in America — that is, until now. Immediately after Unanue’s remarks, calls from the Latinx community called for a boycott of its products, reminding everyone about the abhorrent and dehumanizing ways Trump has treated Hispanic immigrants and those seeking asylum in our country.
“It’s shameful and appalling that the president of Goya Foods is praising the most anti-Latino president in the history of our country,” Nathalie Reyes, the CEO of the Latino Victory Fund, told NBC News. “President Trump has disrespected and attacked the Latino community since Day 1. We call for a boycott of Goya Foods products and anyone who stands with Donald Trump and against our community.”
It didn’t take long for people to speak out on social media, including the Queen herself, Chrissy Teigen, who wrote, “FUUUUUUUCK. A shame. Don’t care how good the beans taste though. Bye bye.”
During his speech, Unanue also announced that Goya would donate one million cans of chickpeas and 1 million pounds of food products to food banks in the U.S. to help those impacted by the pandemic. And that’s great if he wasn’t praising someone who said this during his run for president: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best… They’re sending people that have a lot of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
