Bath & Body Works apologizes for candle that shoppers say resembles a KKK hood

Retailer Bath & Body Works apologized for a candle advertised on its social media accounts featuring a snowflake that some said looked quite similar to a Ku Klux Klan hood.

Users on X began criticizing the candle’s design on Tuesday, calling the design “Klandle.” The company, known for its scented candles and personal care products, removed the candle from its website and apologized in a statement to TMZ.

The snowflake in the picture on the candle had two holes on either side of its spindles. Critics said the pattern resembled the white hoods worn by members of the KKK, an American white supremacist terrorist group that emerged after the end of the Civil War and legal slavery and freed millions of Black people held in bondage. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the KKK is the oldest hate group in America and was founded to enforce violence and terror against newly freed people.

The candle is no longer available on the Bath & Body Works website.

“At Bath & Body Works, we are committed to listening to our teams and customers and fixing any mistakes we make – even those as unintentional as this one,” the company said in an emailed statement to NBC News and other media. “We apologize to anyone we offended, are working quickly to have this article removed, and are evaluating our moving forward.”

Some social media users assumed the error was due to a lack of diversity in Bath & Body Works’ marketing team.

“This kind of thing can easily be prevented by hiring the so-called ‘DEI’ candidate,” one X user wrote.

“Their lack of diversity in the workplace shows exactly why the candle resonated,” another X user wrote.

“How did this design even make it to the shelves? This isn’t just a branding mistake; It’s a reminder of how sensitive cultural symbols can be,” another X user wrote.

Others were quick to defend Bath & Body Works. In the comments on a Hollywood Unlocked Instagram post, some said they didn’t see the resemblance.

“Man, that’s a snowflake,” one Instagram user wrote. Another wrote: “I don’t think black people care but carry on.”

Another Instagram user admitted the mistake: “It was an honest mistake, it looks like a snowflake.” But they still took responsibility.”

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