Ben Stein, a lawyer, and actor have found himself in hot water after going on a racist tirade over Aunt Jemima’s pancake syrup. On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, Ron Filipkowski posted a video on Twitter bemoaning the days when the syrup brand notably featured a caricature of a “big African-American lady” on its bottle. After the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, the corporation removed the picture from the brand’s logo in 2021. Twitter users were enraged after hearing the lawyer’s outburst. They immediately resorted to microblogging to denounce him.
Aunt Jemima was renamed Pearl Milling Company In June 2021
After declaring that he was cooking “breakfast for supper,” Stein was spotted clutching an old bottle of Aunt Jemima pancake syrup. He then voiced his displeasure with the company’s new makeover, saying:
“Because of America’s business culture’s intrinsic bigotry, they opted to make it a white person, or maybe no one at all.”
Just a reminder that Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben were introduced at the Chicago Worlds Fair as former slaves that missed cooking for white people during slavery. So Ben Stein is literally falling for racist propaganda https://t.co/aox6ZZtDGd
— Amir M. Webb, M. A. (@AmirMW) February 21, 2023
Stein controversially added, after declaring his fondness for the original logo design:
“But, I love it when it’s a Black person demonstrating their tremendous expertise at creating pancakes.”
Pepsi Co. decided to discontinue using Aunt Jemima’s well-known image following years of public criticism that the caricature on the syrup bottles perpetuated racist stereotypes, and with a bigger racial reckoning coming in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder. They also renamed it Pearl Milling Company, after the firm that originated the original Aunt Jemima trademark.
“Why produce this video?” irritated online users question Ben Stein’s racist statements.
Netizens were astonished and frightened by Ben Stein’s dubious claims. He was accused of being “willfully stupid.” Several people pointed out that the actor favors the old days when people could be openly racist. Some speculated that the 78-year-old himself was duped by the brand’s “racist marketing.” After the 78-year-latest old’s statements, one user, @chipgoines, commented sarcastically that he now knows why the protagonist from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off disregarded Stein’s character.
Who exactly is Ben Stein?
Stein is a lawyer and actor noted for his conservative political and economic commentary. He was a trial lawyer at the Federal Trade Commission and worked as an economist at the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. Afterwards, he relocated to the west coast to teach politics and civil rights at the University of California. After the publication of his successful editorials, the 78-year-old became a speechwriter for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
His efforts led to his consulting on Hollywood films, where he assisted “liberal authors in portraying traditional households.” Several ads and films were immediately presented to the lawyer. His odd stone-faced expression and deadpan line delivery earned him parts with dull and unemotional characters. The speechwriter is well-known for his work on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and as the presenter of the game show Earn Ben Stein’s Money.
