Popular TikToker Faces Backlash for Starbucks Ad During Boycott — Who Is Hope Woodard?

The Gist:

• Hope Woodard (@justhopinalong) is a popular content creator on TikTok who often discusses lifestyle and social impact topics.
• In November 2023, many people began boycotting Starbucks over tensions in the Middle East.
• Later that month, Hope revealed she had worked on a video with Starbucks, despite the ongoing boycott.

If you haven't heard the name Hope Woodard yet, get ready. The content creator's involvement in a recent Starbucks ad has hurled her into some tough waters with her followers. But before we get into the details, let's take a step back and explore who Hope Woodard is and why people are upset about a video she filmed for the coffee chain.

Hope Woodard is a popular TikTok creator and content strategist based in Brooklyn, New York. While she currently creates videos for the dating platform Bumble per her LinkedIn, she is most known for her own TikTok videos she films talking about everyday life.

A former Peace Corps volunteer, Hope is very passionate about making change and discusses topics important to her, like climate change, in her videos. She boasts a massive following on TikTok and has received over 27 million likes on her videos.

Given her progressive views, Hope Woodard took to TikTok to discuss an upcoming video she did for Starbucks, which is currently facing a boycott around the world.

The boycott began in November 2023 following the Israel-Palestine conflict that erupted on October 7, 2023. It stemmed from a now-deleted social media post by Starbucks Workers United, a union affiliated with SEIU, expressing support for Palestine amidst the conflict with Israel. The post reportedly read, "Solidarity with Palestine!"

Starbucks responded by filing a complaint demanding the union cease using their branding and issue a correction. Starbucks Workers United countersued, seeking a federal court ruling in Pennsylvania that allows the continued use of its name and similar logo, arguing that "Starbucks defamed the union by implying it supports terrorism and violence."

Appalled by this response, some Starbucks customers chose to boycott the company in protest of their perceived anti-Palestinian stance.

In a video, Hope explained that despite this, she continued to go through with the video because she needed to make rent. "The night I sent in the content is the night I found out about the boycott," Hope explained.

"I knew ethically it was not great and I have to admit this which is embarrassing but I was not in the financial situation to say, 'Hey, I don't want to do this anymore," she said.

That aside, Hope did maintain that she hasn't been going to Starbucks for coffee to honor the boycott. In fact, she mentioned that while in the airport recently, she opted for Krispy Kreme, as opposed to Starbucks. However, many folks were confused by this statement.

"The Krispy Kreme is sending me. Like babe do you want a medal?" commented one person on the post.

Another said: "It's the emphasis on Krispy Kreme for me. Like you're making a sacrifice?"

A third user thanked Hope for being transparent about the video with Starbucks but reminded her that money is tight for many people right now. "Changing the system will take sacrifice," the user wrote. Hope responded to this by saying, "Very true, very fair."