M&M’S to shelve mascots because ‘even a candy’s shoes can be polarizing’

(WGHP) — Say so long to Red, Yellow and all the other M&M’S spokescandies. Mars, the company behind the candy-coated chocolates, said it is shelving its M&M mascots – at least for now – after receiving backlash over recent design changes.

On Thursday, Mars said the company would be redesigning the M&M’S characters as part of the brand’s commitment “to creating a world where everyone feels they belong.”

For example, the green M&M traded her go-go boots for a pair of sneakers, and the brown M&M changed her motto to “Not bossy. Just the boss.” They also introduced the new purple M&M, who is also female.

Mars also announced a limited release of “all-female” packages.

The changes drew backlash and sparked debate online as well as from FOX News political commentator Tucker Carlson.

“The green M&M got her boots back, but apparently is now a lesbian, maybe? And there’s also a plus-sized, obese purple M&M, so we’re gonna cover that, of course,” he said on FOX News. “Because that’s what we do.”

On Monday, Mars said it had decided to temporarily ditch the candy mascots and hand over the reins to a new (real-life) spokesperson: Maya Rudolph.

America, let’s talk. In the last year, we’ve made some changes to our beloved spokescandies. We weren’t sure if anyone would even notice. And we definitely didn’t think it would break the internet. But now we get it — even a candy’s shoes can polarizing. Which was the last thing M&M’S wanted since we’re all about bringing people together.

Therefore, we have decided to take an indefinite pause from the spokescandies. In their place, we are proud to introduce a spokesperson America can agree on: the beloved Maya Rudolph. We are confident Ms. Rudolph will champion the power of fun to create a world where everyone feels they belong.

Rudolph will appear in a Super Bowl ad for M&M’S, reports TODAY.