A new perfume from Britney Spears has made the singer "Toxic" to an antigay organization.
A Facebook group titled "1,000,000 Supporting Traditional Marriage" — in reality, it has around 150,000 followers — shared a Pink News article Sunday, which announced that Spears was launching a Pride edition of her Fantasy perfume. A portion of sales from this rainbow-striped scent benefits GLAAD, an LGBTQ media organization.
The antigay group was not pleased. "BOYCOTT!!!" read its caption. In the comments section, dozens attacked Spears for her perfume and her position as an ally of the LGBTQ community.
"I always wondered what mental illness smelled like," wrote one commenter. "Anything to earn more money and reclaim some of that limelight. Perfume to celebrate sodomy! Awful," wrote another.
Spears promoted her pro-LGBTQ perfume prior to her Saturday performance at Brighton Pride in a tweet. At present, the bottle appears to be exclusive to the United Kingdom.
Looking forward to celebrating love and equality at @PrideBrighton tomorrow!! To help kick off the celebration, there's a special #Pride Edition of Fantasy available now at @superdrug stores in the UK! pic.twitter.com/GlLpI7sMrD
— Britney Spears (@britneyspears) August 3, 2018
Antigay folks weren't the only critics of Spears's scent. While the announcement was hailed by many fans, some asked why only £1 from the £40 price tag will go toward GLAAD.
In addition to Fantasy, Spears has another new perfume, Prerogative, which she called a "fragrance for all." Many have interpreted this label to mean that the scent is gender-neutral.
According to Towleroad, Spears received some backlash for plugging Prerogative after Brighton Pride in a tweet that appears to have been deleted. "Loved seeing so many people out celebrating diversity and inclusion for #pride here in the UK! Having the freedom to be who you want to be is so important, which is why we made Prerogative, a fragrance for ALL!! Check it out exclusively at @BootsUK #MyPrerogative," Spears wrote to mixed reviews.
You’re using Pride to advertise? Shame on you, Britney. That’s NOT what it’s for.
— Jo C (@LittleGirlGoth) August 6, 2018
In April, Spears accepted GLAAD's Vanguard Award, which is "presented to media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equality and acceptance of LGBTQ people." In her speech, she spoke about the power of art to create change.
"To be accepted unconditionally and to be able to express yourself as an individual through art is such a blessing. Events like this show the world that we are not alone. We can all join hands together and know that we are all beautiful," Spears said.