Buzzfeed is facing major backlash for their ‘disturbing’ and ‘anti-black’ post on their social media. The food-focused media brand shared a post for Love Island USA star, Chelley Bissainte, which took a wrong turn due to their remark, and people have been calling them racist. However, instead of taking accountability, they deleted the old post and shared a new one stating that some took it the wrong way.
Buzzfeed made a mean remark on Chelly Bissainte
On July 9, 2025, Buzzfeed’s Tasty shared an Instagram post, which highlighted the type of breakfast meal they would make for Chelley Bissainte and her fellow season 7 co-stars in the villa. Chelley’s breakfast slide had a bowl of fruit, Goldfish, ‘in case Ace, who she’s currently coupled up with on the show, gets fussy’, and a knuckle sandwich. It was depicted with a white fist between two buns. Along with it, Buzzfeed wrote:
“As any ‘Love Island’ watcher knows, the contestants NEVER forget to eat their breakfast. But while their mans are the ones cooking them the delicious meal every morning, I’m showing you the breakfasts I would make the girls instead.”
Social media users quickly called out Buzzfeed for their ‘disturbing’ knuckle sandwich graphic and condemned the media for co-linking Chelley to violence. Netizens slammed the media organisation, one user wrote, “A white knuckle sandwich for Chelley is a very interesting choice, BuzzFeed. They are getting way too comfortable being disrespectful.”
Another user penned, “Buzzfeed was comfortable disrespecting Chelley and Ace openly because y’all fueled the hate train for too long. Imagine joking about a black woman being punched in the face? #LoveIslandUSA.” A third netizen penned, “Buzzfeed thought it was okay to run a ‘joke’ about committing violence against Chelley because you bird brains ran around calling her a bully. Chelley, who has been nothing but calm, measured, and respectful all season. BW have to be silent doormats to avoid the aggressive tropes.” A fourth user commented, “The reason my vote is always and will always be with Chelley is this—first the hate train, then brands feel open to share their out of pocket takes.. like a knuckle sandwich? That’s a threat, and no, they did not do it for others.”
Chelley’s team commented on Buzzfeed’s post
Chelly Bissainte’s team didn’t let this slide, and instead voiced their opinion on Buzzfeed’s post hinting at domestic violence since the male contestants on the show are making breakfast for the women they are pursuing. The team’s Instagram post can be read as:
“The slide dedicated to Chelley’s breakfast was not breakfast, but violence. Specifically, hinting at domestic violence…They created a graphic and edited it “knuckle sandwich” on a plate. So I ask you a pressing question. Who makes the islanders breakfast? The men. They make breakfast for the women. Hence, the message of domestic violence is subtle yet present when we use our critical thinking and reasoning skills. It’s not only disturbing, disgusting, and unacceptable. It is the harsh reality that implicit biases can be rooted in anti-blackness, misogyny, prejudice, violence, etc.”
After the major backlash, Buzzfeed’s Tasty deleted the original post and replaced the knuckles with pancakes. However, they didn’t apologise for their comment, and mentioned that ‘jokes’ in the initial post ‘missed the mark’. They wrote:
“We referenced a ‘knuckle sandwich’ in our slide about Chelley, and we thought it meant to be cheeky, it landed with racial tones that we didn’t intend (but should have seen it coming).”
What do you think about Buzzfeed’s remark on Chelly Bissainte?
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