Yorkshire Tea hits back at far-right YouTuber who praised the brand for not tweeting about Black Lives Matter – telling her ‘please don’t buy our tea again’
- Yorkshire-based far-right activist Laura Towler tweeted Yorkshire Tea saying she was ‘chuffed’ the company hadn’t spoken out on the Black Lives Matter protests
- YouTuber Towler, who’s previously shared an image of Oswald Mosley drinking Yorkshire Tea on her Instagram page, received a stern response from the brand
- The company wrote: ‘Please don’t buy our tea again’ and said it was taking time to ‘educate ourselves and plan proper action before we post’
- Global Black Lives Matter protests have been taking place since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25th
A far-right activist with a love of Yorkshire Tea has been asked by the historic British brand to not buy its products in future – after she posted an anti-Black Lives Matter tweet.
Laura Towler, a Yorkshire-based YouTuber who posts extreme views on social media – including last year sharing an image of former British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosley drinking Yorkshire Tea – tweeted the company on Saturday.
She wrote that she was ‘chuffed’ Yorkshire Tea hadn’t posted in support of the Black Lives Matter protests happening globally in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25th.
Posting a smiling face emoji, she wrote: ‘I’m dead chuffed that Yorkshire Tea has not supported BLM.’
Yorkshire-based YouTuber and far-right activist Laura Towler, a self-proclaimed fan of Yorkshire Tea, tweeted the brand on June 6th saying she was ‘dead chuffed’ the company hadn’t yet spoken out on the Black Lives Matter protests
The historic British tea brand, which is owned by the Harrogate-based Bettys and Taylors group, sent an unflinching response to Towler’s tweet, asking her not to ‘buy our tea again’
More than 60,000 people have since liked Yorkshire Tea’s response to the vlogger, who, last year, shared a photo of former British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosley drinking the brand
Yesterday, Yorkshire Tea, which is owned by the Harrogate-based Bettys and Taylors group, hit back at the tweet, telling Towler: ‘Please don’t buy our tea again.
‘We’re taking some time to educate ourselves and plan proper action before we post. We stand against racism.’
The response has since had 60,000 likes but Towler, once named by advocacy group Hope Not Hate as one of UK’s most influential far-right vloggers, remains defiant, changing her Twitter bio to ‘disavowed by Yorkshire Tea’.
This morning, after an avalanche of tweets about the exchange appeared on Twitter, she wrote: ‘Me: I‘m glad this one brand hasn’t supported BLM. *Disavowed by tea brand, blue tick liberals in meltdown, trending on Twitter, news articles written, mentioned on TV*’
After Yorkshire Tea’s response to Towler, fellow tea brand PG Tips spoke out in support of its rival.
The YouTuber was once named by advocacy group Hope Not Hate as one of UK’s most influential far-right vloggers
Towler changed her Twitter bio following the response from Yorkshire Tea, adding: ‘Disavowed by Yorkshire Tea’
The company, the second largest tea maker in the UK, wrote: ‘If you are boycotting teas that stand against racism, you’re going to have to find two new brands now #blacklivesmatter #solidaritea.’
Earlier, when another Twitter user said the brand had been ‘silent’ and mooted changing teas, PG Tips responded: ‘No need. #BlackLivesMatter’ and said it was ‘with’ Yorkshire Tea on supporting the anti-racism campaign.
Many praised the companies for shutting down Towler’s tweet.
@Andre_DirtRider added: ‘As an American and a bit of an Anglophile I’d like to say thank you! I love Yorkshire tea and now I’m even more proud to purchase it.’
@Nclarke30 penned: ‘Well done guys . Excellent response. I’m switching from PG tips now !!! Yorkshire Tea all the way #blm’
@Frawdster wrote: ‘I didn’t think it could get better than @yorkshiretea’s original response. And then it did @PGtips #solidaritea.’
However, others called on the companies to make clear their politics on racism in more detail.
One social media user, @1brianmccarthy wrote: ‘Can we have your full political declaration then please. Just so everyone is clear where you stand on all the issues rather than appearing to be opportunistic is order to sell more tea.’