M&M’s drops mascots after Tucker Carlson led bizarre conservative outrage over ‘less sexy’ redesign

M&M’s has announced that it replaced its “beloved spokescandies” with Maya Rudolph after a previous update to the candy company’s mascots proved “polarising”.

The brand shared a statement announcing the change on Monday, saying they would be taking an “indefinite pause” from using its candy mascots. They said the decision was made following backlash over recent changes to the candy.

Earlier this month, the brand, which is owned by confectionary Mars Wrigley, announced its new campaign, Flipping the Status Quo. The campaign saw the production of limited-edition packages featuring only “M&M’s three leading ladies,” Brown, Green and its newest addition, Purple.

The campaign, which raised money to support women in creative industries, sparked ire from Fox News host Tucker Carlson. During a recent segment criticising the “woke M&Ms,” Carlson questioned the sexual orientations and physical depictions of the candy-coated mascots.

Carlson also expressed his disappointment with the brand’s spokecandies last year, condemning the candies as being “less sexy” following a rebranding. The updated design saw some of the candies change footwear, with the green M&M trading knee-high boots for sneakers and the brown mascot shortening her heel height.

In its statement, M&M’s said it hadn’t meant to “break the internet” with their redesign and shared their hope that Rudolph will be a spokesperson “America can agree on”.

“America, let’s talk. In the last year, we’ve made some changes to our beloved spokescandies. We weren’t sure if anyone would even notice. And we definitely didn’t think it would break the internet,” the company said. “But now we get it - even a candy’s shoes can be polarising. Which was the last thing M&M’s wanted since we’re all about bringing people together.”

After revealing the brand’s plan to take an “indefinite pause” from its M&M’s mascots, the candy company said it was “proud to introduce a spokesperson America can agree on”.

“We are confident Ms Rudolph will champion the power of fun to create a world where everyone feels they belong,” the company added.

The Bridesmaids star will take her place as M&M’s newest spokesperson in the company’s upcoming Super Bowl ad on 12 February, a role she described as an “honour,” according to Today.

“I’m thrilled to be working with M&M’s,” Rudolph told the outlet .“I am a lifelong lover of the candy and I feel like it’s such an honour to be asked to be part of such a legendary brand’s campaign.”

“It’s a very fun pairing, if I do say so myself,” she continued, adding that she thinks “little Maya would be thrilled to get to work with M&M’s”.

As for the opportunity to appear in a Super Bowl commercial, Rudolph told People that she is excited because she was “already the person that likes to watch the Super Bowl for ads”.

The Independent has contacted M&M’s and Rudolph for comment.