A Malaysian woman’s attempt to call for a boycott of Ikea over a special edition bag in support of the LGBT community failed miserably over the weekend, drawing a mix of backlash and ridicule.
Twitter user Ulya Azhari on Sunday posted a photo of an Ikea ad promoting the Storstomma bag asking the Swedish furniture retailer to take it down or risk a mass boycott from Malaysians.
The promotion, which runs until Aug 31, doesn’t apply to Malaysia stores and is only available in the United States, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, according to Ikea’s website. They each cost RM40 (US$10), proceeds from which would go to a youth center in Los Angeles.
“Does IKEA want to feel the power of ‘boycott’ in Malaysia? Take down this poster or we will buy nothing from you @IKEA. From: Malaysian,” the now-deleted tweet read. It included a photo of a banner promoting the bag, decked in all colors of the rainbow.
Ulya’s tweet backfired after it drew negative comments on Twitter, including from people attempting to educate her on issues the LGBT community face.
“The Los Angeles LGBT Centre provides a home for queer kids that were thrown out from their homes bc (sic) of prejudice. Some causes like this one by IKEA is to make sure a child or young adult is safe & taken care of. not everything revolves around u, pls grow up,” user @Sunfloweraidil said.
Some also mocked her by joking that the boycott would actually free up space for them to shop in peace.
“OMG thank god!! I’m so happy they took this step!! I can eat the meatballs peacefully,” said social media user @Nisarcastic.
“I’m all for Malaysians boycotting IKEA over their pride bags so I can shop in peace,” tweeted local musician Alex Bong, also known as Alextbh.
Ulya appears to have deleted her tweet but continues to stand by her homophobia.
“Feel free to insult or condemn me. Fight the LGBT community ‘til the end!” she said in a social media post that included a screenshot of her original “boycott” tweet.
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