Iconic musician Prince Rogers Nelson passed away Thursday, April 21. (AP)
When a big story breaks, sometimes food brands are a little too eager to join the national conversation, leading to hastily published social media posts.
Cheerios, which is owned by Minneapolis-based General Mills, decided to Tweet a simple salute to Prince Rogers Nelson after the superstar rocker’s passing last Thursday.
“Rest in peace,” Cheerios Tweeted with a simple purple background and the hashtag #prince.
The dot above the “i” was replaced with a single Cheerio.
The Tweet was posted at 2:17 PM ET, just hours after the Associated Press had confirmed the singer’s death. But many fans were quick to admonish the chain for taking advantage of a legend’s death to promote its own product.
But there were a few fans who stuck up for the classic cereal.
Several hours after the tribute was posted, the company decided to remove the Tweet.
In a statement emailed to CNN, General Mills said it wanted to "acknowledge the loss of a musical legend in its hometown.” But the company recognized that their note may not have been appropriate.
"But we quickly decided that we didn't want the tweet to be misinterpreted, and removed it out of respect for Prince and those mourning.”
Hamburger Helper, another General Mills brand, Tweeted a lengthier tribute to Prince on Thursday.
That post has also been removed the brand's official Twitter account.
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