Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2020
Criticism of racialized brand imagery
The Uncle Ben's name and image were criticized as reflecting racial stereotypes and hierarchical racial imagery. Following renewed public scrutiny after the murder of George Floyd, Mars announced that it would retire the identity and replace it with Ben's Original. The Uncle Ben's name and image were criticized as reflecting racial stereotypes and hierarchical racial imagery. Critics argued that the use of an honorific such as "Uncle" for a Black man reflected conventions associated with the Jim Crow era, in which Black men were often denied formal titles such as "Mr." Following renewed public scrutiny after the murder of George Floyd, Mars announced that it would retire the identity and replace it with Ben's Original.
2020
Racial stereotype controversy and rebranding
Critics argued that the Uncle Ben name and the depiction of a Black man in a deferential honorific drew on racial stereotypes associated with the Jim Crow era. Amid renewed public scrutiny in 2020, Mars announced that it would retire the name and imagery and replace them with Ben's Original.