Marks and Spencer has been forced to delete a Christmas advert after a furious outcry on social media.
The advert, which has been shared on social media, showed a woman with blue eyeshadow and a flame in her pupil. A second image was posted a day later that showed red, silver and green Christmas hats burning in a fire.
The Instagram post was accompanied by the caption: “This Christmas, do only what you love…like saying no to paper hats (although if we’re honest, we’re partial)”
Angry Palestine supporters on social media however have slammed the company, believing the hats are a nod to the war-stricken region. The Palestinian flag contains black, white and green stripes as well as a red triangle.
One social media commenter blasted: “UK Retailer Marks and Spencer posted these on their Instagram page. The first, a video of a woman’s eyes, wearing a blue eyeliner staring at a fire.
“A day later, a picture which is related to the video, of hats in the colours of the Palestinian flag being burnt in a fire.”
A number of comments on the now deleted Instagram post also took the image as showing support for Israel. One commenter simply said “disgusting”, while another added “disgusting, free Palestine.”
Marks and Spencer says the adverts, which featured Ted Lasso star and Eurovision 2023 host Hannah Waddingham, were filmed in August before the recent developments in Gaza.
A company spokesman said: “Today we shared an outtake image from our Christmas Clothing and Home advert, which was recorded in August. It showed traditional festive coloured red, green and silver Christmas paper party hats in a fire grate.
“While the intent was to playfully show that some people don’t enjoy wearing paper Christmas hats over the festive season, we have removed the post following feedback and we apologise for any unintentional hurt.”
The conflict between over Gaza has intensified over the past month after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7. Since then the Gaza health ministry, which is Hamas controlled, says over 8,000 people have died in the region.
The Israel Defence Force says that around 1,400 people have died in Israel. This includes a number of civilians who died during the initial attack.
