Coke faces Christian boycott over custom ‘Jesus’ cans controversy

Coca-Cola is facing boycott calls from Christians after a Facebook user, Antwoine Hill, posted a video showing his unsuccessful attempt to create a custom Coke can with the word "Jesus."

In the video, Hill demonstrated how Coca-Cola’s customization machine allowed names like “Allah,” “Buddha,” and “Satan,” but rejected “Jesus,” displaying an error message: “Sadly, we cannot automatically allow this text on the can! If you feel this is a mistake, please speak to a store representative.”

Hill’s video quickly sparked outrage on X, formerly Twitter, with hundreds of Christians claiming they would no longer support the company. However, an X user, @openedbunker, pointed out that the images posted by critics claiming the phrase "Allah loves you" was approved by Coke actually had "pending approval" watermarks, suggesting that the system might apply restrictions across various religious terms.

Coca-Cola’s website states: “Names and phrases may not be approved if they are trademarked, political in nature, names of countries, celebrities, religious figures, as well as anything that could be considered offensive for other reasons. Oftentimes, a name might be accepted if you add a last name to the submission.”

Antwoine Hill, the original instigator of the controversy through his Facebook video, clarified that he does not see this as Christian persecution. In a comment on his post, he explained, “The only name that gets this much backlash and hate is the name of Jesus.”