Kylie Larsen Is Being Canceled for Openly Not Boycotting Starbucks
TikTok users have been boycotting Starbucks over the Israel-Palestine conflict, and Kylie Larsen's viewers are mad.
Published Feb. 22 2024, 5:49 p.m. ET
A scroll on your For You page is likely to turn up an influencer or two giving a teary apology for something they've done wrong. For Kylie Larsen, the controversy is still a bit unclear.
Kylie posted a teary video in February 2024, suggesting she's not happy with her platform anymore and seeming to suggest she may be quitting TikTok. What controversy led to this video?
Is Kylie Larsen quitting TikTok? Users are canceling her for not boycotting Starbucks.
In case you haven't come across the calls for a Starbucks boycott that are all over TikTok at the moment, it started not long after the conflict in Israel and Palestine escalated to an all-out war following Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. TikTok users have become very outspoken about not supporting Starbucks, claiming that the company is anti-Palestine.
The TikTok hashtag "#boycottstarbucks" even reached a peak in November 2023, with videos under the hashtag being viewed more than 51 million times.
In December 2023, Kylie posted a "get ready with me" video to her TikTok account (which currently has more than 2 million followers) in which she did her makeup in the car while she, her brother, and her brother's girlfriend went to Starbucks.
"We are not boycotting Starbucks over here," she proudly stated in the video. This comment didn't go over well with those in her comments.
Many of the comments on that video read "BOYCOTT STARBUCKS" with the Palestine flag, with others commenting on her recent breakup with her ex-boyfriend Orlando.
On Feb. 21, 2024, Kylie posted a teary video that's now been viewed more than 7 million times in which she seems to be addressing hate she's received.
"I'm not really sure what to say anymore or what to do anymore," she said. "I feel like I've wasted so much time on this TikTok thing, when really like, in reality, I just want to have a family."
She doesn't address any single controversy in that video, and less than 24 hours later she posted another makeup comparison video. But the comments on her teary confession are again about her support of Starbucks, suggesting it's what caused the continued hate.
Does Starbucks support Israel?
The decision to boycott Starbucks seems to stem from a lawsuit the company has filed against its union, which initially tweeted (and then deleted) a post in support of Palestine. When the union's pro-Palestine post initially went up, those who were pro-Israel called for a boycott of the company. After the tweet was taken down and Starbucks filed a lawsuit in response, many took it as a sign of the coffee company's stance in the conflict.
In late December 2023, Starbucks put out a statement clarifying its stance and claims that it's not supporting either side of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
"Our position remains unchanged. Starbucks stands for humanity. We condemn violence, the loss of innocent life and all hate and weaponized speech," the statement read. "Despite false statements spread through social media, we have no political agenda. We do not use our profits to fund any government or military operations anywhere – and never have."
According to Snopes, there's no official connection between Starbucks and the Israel-Palestine conflict, though the company has filed a lawsuit against the Starbucks Workers United claiming that the "misuse" of its name and logo have caused "damage to its business."
