Purple’s arrival sparked criticism, with netizens blaming Mars Wrigley, parent company of M&M’s, for politicizing chocolate candies. According to them, the M&M’S characters had become “woke”, a word that designates activism against all forms of discrimination and exclusion targeting one or more minorities. The controversy rebounded at the beginning of January with the marketing of a special limited edition pack which contained only the three colors of the female characters, green, brown and purple.
The “M&M’s woke are back”, rose up, shortly after the announcement, Tucker Carlson, one of the star presenters of the Fox News channel, known for the very conservative positions of several of its stars. He mentioned, in a mocking tone, that Green was “maybe lesbian” and that Purple was “obese”in reference to its oval rather than round shape, similar to that of M&M’s containing a peanut.