In what seems to be an annual event, Starbucks' holiday cups are once again stirring up controversy, this time over an illustration of two clasped hands that some believe are two women.
Starbucks' cups for the 2017 holiday season are largely black and white with some red and green accents and depict a variety of holiday symbols, including gifts, snowflakes, a star, and the clasped hands with a heart.
The cup was introduced with a YouTube video that showed two cartoon women holding hands around a cup of coffee and looking into each others’ eyes with the proclamation that “the holidays mean something different to everyone.”
The video led some on both sides of the LGBT debate to infer that the clasped hands on the cup are two women, although no other evidence to suggest the gender of the hands is given.
Twitter lit up with comments about whether the hands were of lesbians, with some applauding and some criticizing the concept.
Starbucks has neither confirmed nor denied the gender of the hands on the cup, although they did reply to one tweet that assumed the hands belong to a lesbian couple by saying, “We’re happy you enjoy the new campaign, Rufus!”
Officially, Starbucks released a statement saying, “Each year during the holidays we aim to bring our customers an experience that inspires the spirit of the season, and we will continue to embrace and welcome customers from all backgrounds and religions in our stores around the world.”
The 2015 Starbucks holiday cup was plain red in an attempt not to use any particular holiday symbols, which drew criticism for being too generic. Last year's holiday cups were green and featured over a hundred faces drawn with a single line, meant to promote unity. Some said those cups were promoting a liberal agenda.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.