Jamie Laing has been left in disbelief and amused that a Twitter user has criticised his confectionary company for ‘encouraging violence towards cats’.
The 32-year-old Made In Chelsea star is the founder and Candy Kittens which is a confectionary company that makes “gourmet gummy candy” that is in the shape of a cat head.
The brand has a celebrity admirer in the form of 50-year-old Richard Osman who took to Twitter recently to declare his love for the Wild Strawberry flavoured variety of the sugary snacks.
But when he expressed his appreciation for the pink coloured treats, Richard was met with an unexpected reaction – and word got back to Jamie himself.
A Twitter user took objection to the Candy Kittens brand and shared a dramatic reaction to Richard’s tweet.
They tweeted back: “Why are we legitimising this sort of thing? Suggesting that cats are a valid thing to eat. This disgusts me.
“These could have been any shape, why cat shaped? They should be circles.”
Screengrabbing the interaction, Jamie expressed his disbelief – and amusement – as he uploaded the interaction along with the caption: “Social Media can be CLASS,” and with a clapping hand emoji and the hashtag “candykittens”.
He also mocked up an alternative design renaming the company 'Fruity Disks'.
The interaction drew amusement and support from fellow celebrities with model and presenter Lilah Parsons being particularly amused by the Twitter user’s suggestion that the shape of the sweets should be circles, as she responded writing: “Fruity discs” with a crying-with-laughter emoji.
The Wanted star Max George defended Jamie’s company writing: “They’re FIT… and I don’t like cats.”
While the official Candy Kittens account itself joked: “Think we’ll put this rebrand on hold…”
Original Made In Chelsea star Caggie Dunlop also chimed in – and perhaps got closer to the truth than she was expecting – writing: “This isn’t real” alongside a string of crying-with-laughter emojis.
It does appear the account that sent the criticism to Jamie and his company may be a parody Twitter account.
A fellow Twitter user had challenged the original tweeter to ask: “Why would eating these make you want to eat a kitten?”
This provoked them to reply: “They are called ‘Candy Kittens’ why? Why not call them 'Strawberry Treats' or 'Fruity Discs'?
“It's because people think violence towards cats is funny. Kids eating this might think they're eating a cat, thereby degrading cats' right to exist, it's borderline animal cruelty. Ban.”
Others joked that the Twitter user would be outraged over Percy Pigs and Jelly Babies.
And when one person told them to “grow up”, the Twitter user hit back: ”Grow up? It's you that should grow up if you think animal cruelty like this is a source of amusement.”
And when another asked if they were joking, they seemingly tongue-in-cheek replied: “It is a joke. A joke that they're allowed to perpetuate this utter rubbish.”
Candy Kittens themselves explain their brand writing: “By combining fashion and confectionary we aim to challenge the dated traditions of the market, striving as we do, to make candy cool.
“We believe we're bringing something that's fresh and unique to your shelves. Sugar has never been put to better use!”
