DiGiorno Pizza found itself in social media hot water on September 8, 2014. A recent hashtag on Twitter #WhyIStayed trended after the Raven’s fired Ray Rice because of his assault on his then fiancé and now wife Janay Palmer last February in a casino elevator. Domestic abuse survivors talked about their experiences using the #WhyIStayed and #WhyILeft.
DiGiorno Pizza’s tweet was, “#WHyIStayed You had pizza.” The tweet sparked outrage around the nation. The tweet was taken down by DiGiorno within minutes, but resulted in more than 250 retweets. DiGiorno apologized, “A million apologies. Did not read what the hashtag was about before posting.”
Many continue to chastise the company due to their insensitivity and disregard of business social media etiquette for not reading about the hashtag before contributing to the posts. DiGiorno apologized again on September 9, 2014.
DiGiorno’s insensitive tweet about #WhyIStayed was a major social media blunder. Here’s a breakdown of the situation:
- Context: The hashtag #WhyIStayed was trending on September 8th, 2014, after the Baltimore Ravens fired Ray Rice for assaulting his fiancee. Survivors of domestic violence used the hashtag to share their experiences of staying in abusive relationships.
- DiGiorno’s Mistake: DiGiorno completely missed the mark by tweeting ” #WHyIStayed You had pizza.” This trivialized a serious issue and showed a lack of awareness about the social media movement.
- Backlash and Apology: The tweet sparked outrage, with many criticizing DiGiorno for their insensitivity.DiGiorno quickly deleted the tweet and apologized, claiming they didn’t understand the hashtag before posting.They issued a further apology the next day.
This incident highlights the importance of social media awareness for businesses. It’s crucial to understand the context of trending topics before engaging with them to avoid causing offense or appearing insensitive.