Sunday, December 5, 2021

What Th' L.L.?

It’s unclear if Lisa Leisy is still serving as Power County Chair for Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin’s gubernatorial run after she tweeted, then deleted that she “doesn’t support” a Hershey’s chocolate commercial featuring a Black family.

Leisy posted Monday, “I don’t support the new and improved #Hersheys #christmas black only commercial. Classic #commercial and they ruined it,” followed by three puke emojis.

On Tuesday afternoon, Leisy's Twitter biography no longer listed herself as the Power County Chair for McGeachin's campaign. A Facebook page led by her promoting Power County campaign events was also seemingly taken down Tuesday.

Neither Leisy, nor Beth Cahill, a spokesperson for McGeachin’s campaign, immediately returned calls or emails seeking comment.

The commercial, which debuted in 2020, features animated Hershey’s Kisses ringing bells to the tune of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

Then, a young Black girl’s hand appears, taking one of the chocolate candies to put on a cookie she made with her father.

Several Twitter users called Leisy’s tweet racist.

In a reply to one person who said she thought the commercial was “adorable,” Leisy said, “Good for you. I no longer can watch much current tv cause black only supporting. Racist commercial if only supports blacks only.”

Earlier this year, Leisy also posted on Instagram that she was “sickened” and “disgusted” that Apple was “promoting the newest ‘holiday’ Juneteenth” in its calendar.

“Guess we’re on our way to be a black nation ahead,” she wrote. “Welcome to the ‘new’ America.”

Juneteenth has been celebrated for more than a century and marks the day in 1865 when enslaved Black people in Texas learned they had been freed.

The news came more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect abolishing slavery and months after General Robert E. Lee surrendered as head of the Confederate army.

Earlier this year, just 14 members of the U.S. House voted against making Juneteenth a federal holiday. The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the bill.

Call it pop psychology, but this is more paranoid delusion & obsessive disorder than garden-variety American racism. Perhaps a friend or family member will suggest it's well past time for a check-up from the neck up. 🤮🤮🤮

[Boise State Public Radio. Click for screenshots.]

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