Gumbo, the famously thick and delicious Louisiana stew of vegetables, rice and meat and/or seafood is a serious business for people in that part of the world. It’s a culturally evocative dish with a deep history. Don’t mess with it, seriously.
This is a lesson Disney learned the hard way this week after posting the recipe for a ‘healthy’ gumbo (the dish is not known for its health credentials). The offending video (screengrab below) titled “Princess Tiana’s Healthy Gumbo,” created to promote a 2009 movie, contained kale, quinoa, wholewheat flour, low fat stock and no roux (because why would you need the fundamental base of the dish?).
Disney obviously thought they were tapping into the superfood craze and had a hit on their hands, and they did, of sorts.
No sooner had the video been posted on the corporation’s social media channels then the Internet responded in the way only the Internet can. The backlash was short, sharp and savage. The wave of indignation even had its own hashtag, #gumbostrong.
"For a healthy gumbo, try loading it up with kale!" -said no one from Louisiana ever. #GumboStrong
— Savoie's Sausage (@SavoiesSausage) September 14, 2016
Disney can give us stereotypical characters, bad Louisiana French and bad accents but don't mess with the gumbo #gumbostrong #disneygumbo
— Prairie des Femmes (@AshleeMichot) September 14, 2016
I just heard about the #disneygumbo... with the kale and quinoa and tomatoes and chili powder in it. #gumbostrong pic.twitter.com/oncOSS2H4A
— DJ Soul Sister (@djsoulsister) September 14, 2016
The video has since been taken down, but thanks to a guy called David Hilbun you can watch an hilariously spliced version below. You can also find a recipe for chicken gumbo here. Are we brave or stupid, or both?
Via Mashable
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