Arts & Entertainment

Son comes out to dad in controversial Taiwanese McDonalds commercial

gay content praised by some and blasted by others

Published

11 years ago

March 8, 2016

Mariah Cooper

(Screenshot courtesy of YouTube)

McDonalds got controversial in Taiwan with a new commercial featuring a young man coming out to his father.

The 90-second commercial joins the man and his father in the middle of a tense-looking conversation. The man shows his father his McCafe coffee cup with the words “I like guys” written on the cup. His father storms off leaving his son at the table looking upset. Eventually the father sits back down and writes on the same cup that he accepts that his son likes men.

The two share a special moment together as they sip their McCafe coffee.

The commercial titled “Acceptance” is part of McDonald’s “Warm Up the Conversations” series to promote its McCafe products. The original version of the ad has been viewed more than one million times on YouTube.

However, not everyone thought the ad was heartwarming. According to Shangaiist, Chang Shou-yi, secretary general of the Alliance of Taiwan Religious Groups for the Protection of Family is demanding a boycott from the chain.

“Now, even if you want to just take a leak at a McDonald’s bathroom, you can’t help but feel polluted,”Shou-yi says.

Shou-yi also released a press statement addressing his issues with the commercial.

“Because McDonald’s is frequented by many children, it is especially important to oppose the promotion of same-sex behavior,” the statement reads.

Same-sex marriage is not legally recognized in Taiwan.

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Online Culture

Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer

Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters

Published

12 hours ago

September 23, 2026

Joe Reberkenny

Braden Peters a.k.a. "Clavicular" (Screen capture via NBC News/YouTube)

Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.

According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.

The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.

According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.

The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.

According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”

According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.

The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.

Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.

At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.

Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.