Years ago, the typical knee-jerk dismissal of bloggers amounted to the argument that “nobody cares what you had for lunch.” Now one fateful, brand-friendly tweet from NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. has demolished that line of reasoning forever.
Making my favorite sandwich. I swear it's delicious. @Hellmanns pic.twitter.com/sK5XeHxVi9
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) April 5, 2016
The sickening image of this banana-and-mayo monstrosity—on white bread, no less—instantly divided the Internet into extremely polarized camps. Black Twitter was largely appalled:
@DaleJr pic.twitter.com/27lTOziEMw
— Mike Cugno (@MikeCugnoCBS4) April 5, 2016
https://twitter.com/micahpeters_/status/717401376276422657
https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/717407562900094976
But others approved of the apparently regional recipe:
@DaleJr @Hellmanns my mom is from NC and that was her fav and still is since I was a kid. I prefer peanut butter myself. But that's not bad
— Martinelli Goss (@MartinelliGoss1) April 5, 2016
@DaleJr @Hellmanns INDEED. LOVE IT !
— BRIAN LEE HENDERSON (@scapesrus) April 5, 2016
@DaleJr @Hellmanns I just had one myself buddy. Good southern eating
— Dean mozingo (@hmssquirrel24) April 5, 2016
The bravest among us actually tried the sandwich for themselves—or forced someone else to—before passing judgment:
I ate the @DaleJr banana sandwich. I gave it a chance. https://t.co/Mpicd92TzA pic.twitter.com/mBKs6XNtt2
— James Dator (@James_Dator) April 5, 2016
Reminder: one time I made WaPo staffers eat banana and mayo sandwiches, and they were great https://t.co/07LAq4u5gC pic.twitter.com/vOLD4aqKtO
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) April 5, 2016
@DaleJr my youngest said that sandwich sounded YUCK but had to try it… The outcome was he LOVED IT!!!! pic.twitter.com/mank9e6LXu
— Katie Rubarth (@rubarth3) April 5, 2016
OK, Dale Jr. @CoyWire tried your #MayoBananaSandwich and… he’s “not mad at it.” https://t.co/u1eDfSIcza pic.twitter.com/VKbV2asfKm
— Morning Express (@MorningExp) April 6, 2016
Should be no surprise that I loved it. Thanks for the recipe @DaleJr. https://t.co/EiygfV6sno
— Tadd Haislop (@TaddHaislop) April 6, 2016
The real winner, though, is Hellmann’s. Did they blackmail Earnhardt into mentioning them by name? Impossible to say. But at the very least, some palms were greased—with mayonnaise.
The #breakingnews on @DaleJr's sandwich = FRESH flavor inspo at @Hellmanns HQ. Thoughts? Takers? #bananamayomadness pic.twitter.com/munWzdnXl0
— Hellmann's Mayonnaise (@Hellmanns) April 6, 2016
Earnhardt, who frankly seems more like a troll with each successive tweet about this, reveled in the war of his own making.
The banana mayo sandwich combo reaction is always so passionate. What if you added peanut butter? That's always an option you know.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) April 5, 2016
Dude, please. You have done more than enough damage to Americans’ minds and palates already. Just eat your food without putting it on social media—and never, ever pitch a cooking show.
https://twitter.com/rjobe85/status/717734306043432960
H/T Distractify