Who is Zyahna Bryant? Dove soap fat liberation controversy explained amid rising boycott calls

The soap brand, Dove is facing massive backlash online as the brand collaborated with the controversial Black Lives Matter (BLM) activist Zyahna Bryant.

Bryant was earlier in the news in 2020 during the BLM protest and at that time, she accused a white student of the University of Virginia, identified as Morgan Bettinger.

Bryant accused Bettinger of making a racist comment about the protestors of BLM. She claimed Bettinger said that BLM protestors are as good as speed bumps. However, as per the New York Post, Bryant later admitted that she misheard the comment.

But this was not enough to convince the University of Virginia and by that time, they ruled Bettinger guilty of making a threat against the protestors. Soon after this, Bryant received massive backlash online and people accused her of ruining the career of the student.

Dove has now partnered with Zyahna Bryant in 2023, which is not sitting well with internet users. Bryant is a community organizer and activist, for those who are unaware.

She is also a student at the University of Virginia and is popular for raising her voice on racial issues.

Other than this, she is also a member of the Charlottesville Youth Council and the author of the book Reclaim, which was published in 2019.

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Zyahna Bryant announced being the ambassador of Dove in August

In August, Zyahna Bryant made an announcement on her Instagram account in which she informed her followers about being the ambassador of Dove. Bryant further said that she is hoping to push the idea of fat liberation. She wrote in her caption:

"Fat liberation is something we should all be talking about! That's why I am partnering with Dove, to support the work of [the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance], @flareforjustice in the Campaign for Size Freedom."

She further said in the video that she believes they should always prioritize the voices and experiences of the most marginalized people and communities.

Zyahna Bryant continued in the video:

"So when I think about what fat liberation looks like to me, I think about centering the voices of those who live in and who maneuver through spaces and institutions in a fat body."

As she made the announcement on her Instagram, her followers started to show support for her.

However, the majority of internet users on X (formerly known as Twitter) started saying that it was time to boycott Dove now as the beauty brand collaborated with a woman who ruined the life of a student.

Social media users started boycotting Dove after they got to know about their collaboration with Zyahna Bryant

As internet users came across the announcement about the collaboration of the beauty brand with activist Zyahna Bryant, they soon started sharing negative comments.

Several social media users said that Bryant is the same person who wrongly accused a white student of racist comments and ended up ruining her life.

Some people on the internet also shared videos in which they were seen throwing Dove soap bars in the trash can following the controversial news.

Here are a few reactions from X users:

It is worth noting that the beauty brand and its representative have not commented on the backlash at the time of writing this article.