Wonderful Pistachios is now distancing itself from boxer Manny Pacquiao following his comments that gay people are “worse than animals.” Pacquiao starred in one of the company’s Get Crackin’ commercials in 2012.
“Wonderful Pistachios is not currently affiliated with Manny Pacquiao nor do his views align with ours,” Wonderful Company spokesman Steven Clark told The Daily Beast. “Wonderful Pistachios stands firmly for diversity and equality, and we proudly support marriage equality and inclusion around the world.”
Nestlé, which had a promotion deal with the boxer in 2015, also emailed to clarify that the company “is not a current sponsor of Manny Pacquiao.”
Earlier, Nike severed its 10-year relationship with Pacquiao over the anti-gay comments he made during his run for the Philippines senate. In its terse statement announcing the end of their sponsorship, Nike wrote, “We find Manny Pacquiao’s comments abhorrent."
“Do you see animals mating with the same sex? Animals are better because they can distinguish male from female,” the famous boxer said.
—Asawin Suebsaeng
