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Ben & Jerry's
Schweddy Balls ice cream is the latest in frozen threats facing your children, at least according to One Million Moms. The conservative organization, an offshoot of American Family Association, has called for a boycott of the newest Ben & Jerry’s flavor because they find it offensive.
“The vulgar new flavor has turned something as innocent as ice cream into something repulsive,” the group posted on its website. “Not exactly what you want a child asking for at the supermarket.”
The flavor is named after the classic Alec Baldwin sketch on “Saturday Night Live,” in which he plays a bakery owner named Pete Schweddy. The most famous line (and the one most often repeated by drunk frat boys) is his end note: “No one can resist my Schweddy Balls.”
Clearly there is a double entendre here, but is it really worth protesting vanilla ice cream with rum and fudge-covered malt balls? After all, Trix may be for kids, but rum ice cream is for the rest of us.
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Are you offended by Schweddy Balls?
“We’ve been hearing from many fans. It appeals to those who love our irreverent sense of humor,” Ben & Jerry’s spokesperson Sean Greenwood told Gannett News Service. “If you watch the skit, it’s a lot easier to get the joke,” he said.
Well, One Million Moms watched the skit (they give a play-by-play in their call to action), and they are still not amused. They are asking for people to write to Ben & Jerry’s and ask them to refrain from producing another batch of what’s currently a popular flavor.
They also cite their disdain for the special addition of Chubby Hubby called Hubby Hubby, created in 2009 to celebrate the start of legalized gay marriage. “It seems that offending customers has become an annual tradition for Ben & Jerry's,” One Million Moms writes.
We asked some parents on our TODAY Moms Facebook page what they thought, and here's what a few of them had to say:
Rachel Helie: "That's kind of the point. Tongue in cheek. Sheesh. Just because we are mommies, we shouldn't lose our ability to have a sense of humor. My fave is Karamel Sutra, and that is 'provocative.' As long as they keep making it, I could care less."
Jennifer Dean Martz: "Of course it's vulgar. The SNL skit was intentionally vulgar...what SNL skit is not? I just won't buy it as i would never want to hear my kids say they were eating schweddy balls lol"
Shannon Orton: "I'm mad that I cannot find it in any stores in my town and I want to eat Schweddy Balls! Oh and I'm a mom."
What do you think? Did Ben & Jerry’s go too far with Schweddy Balls, or is this organization overreacting?
More on ice cream from Bites:
Leave a Comment:
Saturday Night Live is on at 11:00 PM. I don't permit my 9 year old to watch SNL because the humor isn't appropriate for her age.
You don't have to be a parent to think that naming a flavor this is in unspeakably poor taste, you just need to have some sense of decency.
I never thought the day would come when I have to monitor which ice cream freezer my kids open at the supermarket. I always thought (past tense) that Ben and Jerry's was a socially conscious company... I guess they've smashed that illusion pretty well. Anything for a buck, eh? Even putting sexual innuendos on kids' favorite food (ice cream)? Gotta say that it's BRYERS for me until this is done.
You have got to be kidding me. You have got to be kidding me! Name ice cream after a bunch of bobble head homos? That place ought to be banned from ever selling ice cream again....anywhere. And then they wanna name it in support of gay marriage. Just gag me with a spoon. This is just absolutely sickening. This homo thing has just been taken way too far. In fact it just shows that this country and our alleged leaders have no morals and zero ability to lead even a bunch of dogs. Fag ice cream......c'mon get a life! I'm going to tell everybody I know not to buy anything from this company. Boycott them to the max.
People need to get over the fact of the name! ITS AN ICE CREAM!!!!! Yeah i wouldnt like my 2 yr old kid saying it. The point is that its just a name if an ice cream and its not like there are actual sweaty balls in it. Jeese pple. If you dont tell your kids they will never know. What they dont know wont hurt them.