Manila, Philippines –  The North Carolina-based American company Krispy Kreme is in deep trouble because of its new product which recently made its debut in the Philippines.  But the controversy is not about the actual product itself, but about the name given to it.

Krispy Kreme launched its version of the now popular cronut — a cross between a croissant and a doughnut, and named it Krispy Kreme Kroissant.  Immediately, the governments of the Philippines and the United States protested the name because of the resulting acronym: KKK.

In the Philippines, KKK stands for Kataastaasang, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan, a secret revolutionary society formed to fight the colonial  Spanish regime in the late 1890’s.  In the U.S., KKK stands for Ku Klux Klan  or the “Hooded Order,” a far-right organization which advocated extremist white supremacy, white nationalism and anti-immigration expressed through terrorism.

Philippine officials said that naming the baked products after the much-respected KKK is an insult to the heroism and nationalism of the men and women who gave up their lives in order to gain independence from Spain.  U.S. officials, on the other hand, said that it cannot allow an American business entity to promote the ideals of an extremist and violent organization.

Krispy Kreme has not returned calls from The Adobo Chronicles inquiring whether or not the company plans to rename its cronut product which, by the way, comes in chocolate, apple, cinnamon, strawberry and vanilla cream flavors.