First, The Hallmark Channel, then Dole Fruit Bowls, and now Uber Eats. The conservative group One Million Moms has taken issue with a few commercials as of late. One commercial is from Uber Eats, according to NBC News.
The group is accusing the food delivery service of "brainwashing" and pushing the LGBTQ+ agenda onto families across the country. Van Ness identifies as non-binary but uses he/him pronouns. He is one of the stars of the show Queer Eye. In an e-mail, One Million Moms director Monica Cole said that Van Ness is a "cross-dresser" and that instead of trying to provide a helpful service, they are brainwashing their viewers.
The first commercial features gold-medal gymnast Simone Biles doing a series of backflips and landing on her feet, at which point she said, "Tonight, I’ll be eating cheesy cauliflower pizza with extra broccolini." Van Ness (a former high school cheerleader) then enters the picture doing the same gymnast flips and declares that he will be eating the same thing. Biles jokingly asks if that's her leotard he is wearing. He quickly says no, then says yes, and Biles says he can keep it. You can see the ad below:
One Million Moms has said that the commercial "screams liberal agenda" and that it turns people off from ordering from Uber Eats. The group was known for badgering the Hallmark Channel until they took down an ad of a same-sex kiss, and for getting upset at the movie Toy Story 4, because it showed a scene of two moms, a same-sex couple, dropping their child off at preschool.
Cole has also stated, "Uber Eats should focus on what it does and remain neutral on controversial issues." In a follow-up advertisement, Simone is on a balance beam doing splits, when Van Ness says he is going to have a falafel wrap with sweet potato fries. A doorbell rings and an Uber Eats bag shows up. Biles asks, "Splitsies?" Van Ness then does a split, misunderstanding her. He then realizes and says, "Oh, you meant the food, didn't you?" Here is the clip:
One more advertisement shows Biles hanging upside down saying tonight she will be enjoying crab cakes with spicy aioli. Van Ness suddenly hangs down, and asks if he and Simone Biles can be besties.
The company is standing by their ads, and not giving in easily. They said they are "unapologetically committed to representing the flavor spectrum." There are various other "Tonight, I'll Be Eating..." commercials that feature famous faces in funny situations, like Mark Hamill and Patrick Stewart. This is just their latest in the series.
A petition has been started, and as of publishing, it has 6,645 signatures.
Sources: NBC News, The Hill, New York Daily News, One Million Moms