Unilever Indonesia responds to stir over rainbow Gaytime Ice Cream

Unilever Indonesia has issued a response over boycott calls from anti-LGBT consumers over its Walls Gaytime Ice Cream brand, which is not even found in Indonesia. This followed online backlash after pictures of the product made its rounds on the internet.In the statement, Unilever Indonesia clarified that Gaytime ice cream is not a product of Wall’s Indonesia. It added that all products from Wall’s sold in Indonesia have also obtained halal certification.“Unilever has been in Indonesia for 84 years and we respect and uphold the cultural and religious values and norms in Indonesia. We always ensure that our products, activities and campaigns in Indonesia are suitable for Indonesians from different backgrounds,” the statement added.The ice cream product came to attention online when one Facebook user in Indonesia uploaded a picture of a rainbow coloured version of Golden Gaytime. At the time of writing, the post garnered 543 shares, 133 reactions and 26 comments at the time of writing.The rainbow version was a fan creation by Jesse James McElroy, a film director for Rabbit Content Australia. This sparked debate online on the use of rainbow to symbolise the LGBT movement, a controversial issue in Indonesia, which has a high Muslim population.