In addition, he has hosted or been the guest on television and syndicated radio talk shows, such as TBN.įeuerstein has a big Christian, conservative following, and as he'll probably tell you himself, he's good at making things that are popular on the internet. The fight over Starbucks's cup actually begins with a man named Joshua Feuerstein and a viral video in which he claims Starbucks can't celebrate Christmas.įeuerstein, who looks a bit like Kevin James and whose voice bears an uncanny resemblance to Seth Rogen's, describes himself as an 'American evangelist, internet, and social media personality' his personal website touts his 'Facebook fame' and internet success:įeuerstein’s social media success led him to be the subject of a recent BBC Trending episode. Why some Christians are mad about Starbucks's 2015 red cup The shade of red is different (brighter!), and the cup doesn't have the pine tree print. The 2015 cup (left) is obviously different from the 2014 cup (right). Here is the source of all this pain, anger, and outrage: The 2015 cup on the left the 2014 cup on the right. The cups make the transition from plain white to holiday-themed in November this year they changed over on November 3.

Here's what the Starbucks red cup looks like now and what it looked like in 2014Īccording to Starbucks, the holiday cup began in 1997 with a 'jazz-themed design in jewel tones of deeper reds, greens and blues.' Each year since then, the coffee giant's holiday cups return, and have become a corporate tradition in the process.

It's also an unflinchingly real slice of American internet culture and the outrage machine that fuels it. The conflict over this dumb cup is so passionate that the original version of a viral 'Starbucks' War on Christmas' video has more than 14 million views. The culture wars have come to disposable paper Starbucks cups.Īmericans fighting over what is printed on a coffee cup designed by a billion-dollar company to promote conformity sounds like cold German satire: While the world rages on and problems like starvation, a massive refugee crisis, and homelessness remain unfixed, people in America - including an American presidential candidate - are arguing over a red beverage container.īut there's nothing satirical about this. For others, it's a chance to beat their chests and scream about Christian and conservative stupidity into the faceless void of the internet. To some, the naked red cup, unadorned with symbols like holly or snowflakes, is an affront against the Christian faith, a cut against Christianity. In certain pockets of the US, it speaks to something larger than the vessel from which we drink our hot, caffeinated beverages. On the surface, it might look like a simple crimson container sized to hold either 8, 12, 16, 20, or 30 fluid ounces of the life-giving dark nectar we know as coffee. In a world filled with many items, there is none more divisive right now than the 2015 Red Starbucks Cup™.

Starbucks new cups 2015