Elīna Didrihsone is a well-known Latvian ”influencer”, having tens of thousands of followers on the social media platform Instagram and a sponsorship from Es mīlu kafiju (”I love coffee”), a maker of coffee machines. The company ended the sponsorship, however, after Elīna had expressed her views on homosexuality, which led to a media hunt and condemnations from various celebrities.
Her comments were made after a question from a follower about her views on the matter, to which she replied:
”It’s totally unacceptable to me. I don’t understand it, I will never understand it and I will never support it. I’m totally against it – we were not created by God in that way. A woman should be with a man and a man with a woman.”
Once the hunt for Elīna was on, the coffee-machine maker announced on its official Twitter account:
”At Es mīlu kafiju we don’t divide coffee lovers into good and bad. We are equally fond of all our customers. That’s why we cannot continue working with Elīna Didrihsoni.”
The company is owned by the mayor of the capital Riga, Mārtiņš Staķis, from the liberal party ”Movement for!” His position has caused many to question these actions, and argue that a powerful politician and businessman shouldn’t take part in the bullying of an individual on social media.
