A Kroger in Atlanta, Georgia is going viral for its Juneteenth cake offerings. A TikTok video posted on June 17 shows haphazardly decorated desserts sitting in the bakery section of the supermarket.
“This is some bulls—,” TikToker @blaq.monalisa says at the start of the video. “Who the hell made this ugly-ass s—?”
The video, which now has over 10 million views, shows shelves stocked with birthday cakes and other treats, then lands on a table selling Juneteenth cookie cakes.
“Y’all decorate everything else around here cute, everything else around here cute,” the TikToker says. “But for Juneteenth, you wanna just throw something on a freaking cookie cake and expect someone to buy it.”
Several desserts are shown, some with printed designs, others featuring phrases like “FREE,” “June 19 Free,” “Congratulations” and “Free @ Last” written off-center in icing.
The phrase “free at last” is known for being a prominent part of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, borrowed from the title of a Negro-Spiritual song. And now the phrase, which represents a hard-fought struggle, is being featured on a supermarket cake, casually scribbled in internet shorthand.
“I’m a be in here bright, early in the morning to talk to somebody about this, because this is unacceptable,” concludes the TikToker, who did not respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment.
“Kroger count your days,” they added in the post’s caption. “Why even bother if you’re going to lack creativity … This is a mockery!”
In the comments section of the video, many agreed.
“Free @ last is just insane 😭😭😭😭,” commented one TikTok user.
“It’s giving ‘here damn’ 💀,” wrote another.
“Gurl! Not the last one saying Congratulations,” added someone else. “Like Congratulations You’re free! 🤦🏽♀️🤭.”
“I would absolutely take that cake that says FREE,” wrote one Reddit user, and another replied, “Yea I mean it’s says FREE I thought it was free.”
For its part, Kroger says the desserts featured in the video were “inconsistent” with its “provided guidance.”
“The products have been removed, and we’ve addressed this directly with the store teams and the customer who took the initial video,” it added.
The removal of the controversial cookie cakes was confirmed by @blaq.monalisa in a follow-up TikTok video.
“I still feel some type of way that they didn’t replace them with better Juneteenth cakes,” she says.
However, there were some folks on the internet who felt “mixed” on the issue.
An alleged Kroger employee on Reddit wrote, “I understand that people here are overworked and underpaid like crazy. However, admittedly these cake are not the best looking and def could’ve been made better.”
In response, other Reddit users said, “It looks like they don’t have an experienced cake decorator,” and pointed out that “it was probably someone with minimal training and not much time, doing their best.”
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced enslaved people were free. This was two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863.
In June 1883, the Galveston Daily News reported on the 18th annual Emancipation Day — what would today be considered Juneteenth — celebrations across Texas.
In 2022, Walmart drew backlash for releasing its own Juneteenth-themed ice cream, which critics said attempted to capitalize on a Black holiday rather than highlight already existing Black-owned ice cream brands.
The chain later apologized to customers, writing, “Juneteenth holiday marks a commemoration and celebration of freedom and independence. However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize.”
Then, in 2023, a Reddit post showed another controversial Juneteenth dessert sold at Walmart — watermelon-themed cakes. While watermelon and red-colored foods are associated with Juneteenth, many commenters still thought the choice was “tacky.“