“When I saw Lady Doritos trending, I was really hoping it was just Kylie naming her baby”.

PepsiCo, the holding company for Doritos chips and who infamously caused major controversy last year with their Kendall Jenner fiasco, have taken another knock this week – this time over tone-deaf remarks perpetuating gender stereotypes.

PepsiCo CEO, Indra Nooyi was interviewed on the Freakonomics Podcast last week and brought up the topic of ‘lady-friendly Doritos’. She stated that women and men eat Doritos differently and that the company was trying to solve this problem.

Among these differences is how women don’t like to “crunch too loudly” or lick the flavour off their fingers in public.

“Although women would love to crunch crisps loudly, lick their fingers and pour crumbs from the bag into their mouth afterwards, they prefer not to do this in public,” she said.

If this wasn’t cringey enough, she further explains that Doritos are eaten in a very masculine way and perhaps they’re just not suitable for women:

“You watch a lot of the young guys eat the chips, they love their Doritos, and they lick their fingers with great glee, and when they reach the bottom of the bag they pour the little broken pieces into their mouth, because they don’t want to lose that taste of the flavour, and the broken chips in the bottom.”

“Women would love to do the same, but they don’t. They don’t like to crunch too loudly in public. And they don’t lick their fingers.”

She ended off by saying Doritos are exploring the option of snacks designed and packaged specifically for women.

As was expected, the internet did not take too kindly to these remarks. Many mocked the idea that Doritos were un-lady-like, while others were purely outraged and disgusted at the blatant gender-stereotype.

Here’s what people in the Twitter-sphere had to say:

If you had told me someone new would try to silence women in 2018, I gotta say, Doritos would’ve been pretty low on my list of guesses.

— OhNoSheTwitnt (@OhNoSheTwitnt) February 5, 2018

DORITOS THANK YOU FOR PROTECTING ME FROM THE BIG BAD CRUNCH I WAS SO SCARED

— Kendra Alvey (@Kendragarden) February 5, 2018

I didn’t even know it was possible to be offended by a chip. But @Doritos went and proved me wrong. #LadyDoritos

— Hayley Hutson (@HayleyHutson4) February 5, 2018

Not only will Lady Doritos be less crunchy, but once a month for a few days they will also be extra spicy. #ladydoritos

— Fortune Feimster (@fortunefunny) February 6, 2018

#Feminism is over! everybody go home! we now have #LadyDoritos! we did it ladies! we have achieved equality!

— Shaylah Banning (@GoddessOfLogic) February 5, 2018

To be honest when I saw “Lady Doritos” trending I was really hoping that it was just Kylie naming her baby. #LadyDoritos

— Ali Kolbert (@AliKolbert) February 5, 2018

#LadyDoritos……really? For your information, the crunch doesnt bother us. The fact that you only fill the bags up halfway is what bothers us.

— aja rae (@aja_dreamer23) February 6, 2018

If I chew loudly, how will I ever catch a man?#LadyDoritos

— BallpitGangsta?? (@Ballpit_Gangsta) February 6, 2018

WE WANT EQUAL PAY AND OPPORTUNITIES NOT GOD DAMN @Doritos THAT SOUND LESS LIKE CHIPS. #LadyDoritos you must be joking.

— Hot Tin Roof Comedy (@HotTinRoofTeam) February 6, 2018

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After days of much speculation and backlash, the company tried to do damage control by announcing they were never planning to release any lady-friendly Doritos product. PepsiCo released an official statement on the matter to clear up the confusion:

“The reporting on a specific Doritos product for female consumers is inaccurate. We already have Doritos for women — they’re called Doritos, and they’re enjoyed by millions of people every day. At the same time, we know needs and preferences continue to evolve and we’re always looking for new ways to engage and delight our consumers.”

AUTHOR: Farah Khalfe