Disgraced ex-Peterborough MP hits out at Kellogg’s over Snap, Crackle and Pop and Coco the Monkey

Disgraced former Peterborough MP Fiona Onasanya has seemingly accusing breakfast cereal giant Kellogg’s of racism over the use of cartoon mascots in their branding.
By The Newsroom
Published 16th Jun 2020, 09:55 GMT
Updated 16th Jun 2020, 11:15 GMT
MP for Peterborough Fiona Onasanya at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, in London on perverting the course of justice . EMN-180813-191934009MP for Peterborough Fiona Onasanya at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, in London on perverting the course of justice . EMN-180813-191934009
MP for Peterborough Fiona Onasanya at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, in London on perverting the course of justice . EMN-180813-191934009

Ms Onasnya, who was jailed after being convicted of perverting the course of justice last year, tweeted about the cartoon mascots used by the company for two of its cereals.

She said: “@KelloggsUK, as you are yet to reply to my email - Coco Pops and Rice Krispies have the same compòsition (except for the fact CP’s are brown and chocolate flavoured)... so I was wondering why Rice Krispies have three white boys representing the brand and Coco Pops have a monkey?”

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She then added: “Well, given John Harvey Kellogg co-founded the Race Betterment Foundation (the Foundation’s main purpose was to study the cause of and cure for “race degeneracy”), it would be remiss of me not to ask....”

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The original tag the ex-MP used was not a Twitter account for Kellogg’s.

Snap, Crackle and Pop have been used as mascots for Rice Krispies for nearly 100 years, and are thought to be elves. In recent times, Snap has been voiced by Radio DJ Chris Evans, Crackle by TV presenter Keith Chegwin, and Pop by Don Messick, the voice of Scooby Doo.

Coco the Monkey has been the mascot of Coco Pops in the UK since the 1960s.

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A spokesman for Kellogg’s said: “It’s important that we are all talking more about how we can build racial equality. Kellogg stands in support of the black community. We do not tolerate discrimination and believe that people of all races, genders, backgrounds, sexual orientation, religions, capabilities and beliefs should be treated with the utmost dignity and respect.

“The monkey mascot that appears on both white and milk chocolate Coco Pops, was created in the 1980s to highlight the playful personality of the brand. As part of our ambition to bring fun to the breakfast table, we have a range of characters that we show on our cereal boxes, including tigers, giraffes, crocodiles, elves and a narwhal.”

MORE: Fiona Onasanya - a timeline of events