Oreo has caused a social media storm after representatives for the company took to Twitter to share a powerful, albeit unexpected, message: "Trans people exist."
And just to put an end to any confusion; yes we are talking about the American sandwich cookie brand.
In the midst of LBGT History Month, the snack company took to Twitter to show solidarity with the trans community and write to its 940,000+ followers that "trans people exist".
And although true, the tweet seemingly came from nowhere - especially seeing as the company's previous tweets involved the usual cookie promotion you'd probably expect.
Nonetheless, the post gained traction, amassing over 494,000 likes and more than 56,000 retweets.
But the replies to the tweet were a lot more... divided, shall we say?
Despite many people praising the company for speaking out on behalf of trans people, some people slammed the company for using such an important issue as nothing more than a "marketing ploy".
One person replied, writing: "Trans people exist...as a marketing tool for corporations. There I finished the sentence for you."
Another echoed this sentiment, writing: "I agree entirely, but this is a room of old white people saying 'how can we sell more cookies to young people'".
One person could see through the "marketing strategy", but found the message and sentiment "cool nonetheless".
Another Twitter user, who identifies as trans, replied writing: "Thank you, large soulless brand, for confirming that what i have experienced throughout my life did indeed happen in a token gesture that im sure has nothing to do with manipulating more trans people into buying your cookies [sic].
"[I'm] certain this comes from a genuine place of love for my community and not because trans rights are in profitable fashion like flat art styles and ukelele music."
Others used the tweet to take aim at those who disagree with trans rights, with one person writing: "Cookies shouldn't be smarter than congress people."
One creative person even penned a short poem:
Some people believed that food companies and politics shouldn't mix (although, trans people having equal rights is not political - it is a moral right).
And then - we all saw it coming - there were those who vowed never to eat Oreos ever again:
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But enough them, perhaps the most important message people wanted to share to Oreo was "okay... what are you doing about it?"
One person replied saying: "true now when are you gonna donate to trans charities?"
Explaining their frustration with Oreo's original tweet in more detail, one person wrote: "For those in the comments who don’t get why so many trans people are unhappy with this: Does me saying that 'bees exist' do anything to help bees? Does it even tell you whether I think bees existing is positive?
"No. It doesn’t. The bar is in hell."
And another wise person simply said: "Donating money to Trans Life Line would go a lot further than a staffer trying to earn you a headline."
Yes, Oreo, trans people exist - but it is also important to highlight their struggle for equal rights, or even shine a spotlight on transgender rights charities such as Stonewall and TransEquality.
Happy LGBT History Month!
