Positive Beverage has severed ties with celebrity influencer Kelly Dodd, following controversial statements about COVID-19 by the “Real Housewives of Orange County” star.
Dodd joined California-based Positive Beverage in 2019 and would promote the brand through her social media platform, appearances at trade shows and by showcasing the drinks on episodes of her Bravo TV series. However, the decision to fire Dodd came this weekend after Instagram posts showing her flouting pandemic safety guidelines came under fire from fans and media.
One video posted to her Instagram Stories timeline showed Dodd, her husband Rick Leventhal and others at a Newport Beach restaurant celebrating not having to wear masks and criticizing mask mandates by California Governor Gavin Newsom. In subsequent videos, Dodd claimed that she and her friends had all been vaccinated, despite California’s vaccine rollout regulations only allowing the elderly and child care, education, emergency and food and agriculture workers to receive doses at this time.
“The sheeple are mad,” Dodd said in one video, attacking her critics.
Speaking to BevNET today, Positive Beverage founder and COO Zach Muchnick said that firing Dodd was done in the interest of keeping the company neutral on political matters. Muchnick said that the company is not attempting to censor Dodd’s opinions but wanted to ensure the brand’s message is “welcoming to all people.”
“I think as humans, we’re all opinionated,” Muchnick said. “So I think by really staying focused, and spreading that positive message, we are not at all censoring anyone. But we also don’t want to alienate anyone and we don’t want to preach something that we don’t believe as a company.”
Dodd acknowledged the breakup in a tweet yesterday, writing that she was glad she “could help put Positive Beverage on the map.” She added that she will be exploring a new venture in the beauty industry.
“There always must be some type of underlying layer of respect and, unfortunately, we believe that it has escalated to a point that Kelly’s stance is no longer congruent with our core values,” Muchnick said. “We really do appreciate all of her contributions during our affiliation and she’ll always be a part of Positive Beverage’s history.”
The move comes as Positive Beverage prepares a nationwide retail expansion this year. According to Muchnick, over the past month the company added six new DSD distributors, including Olympic Eagle and King Beverage in Washington, Ajax Turner in Tennessee, Webb & Gerritsen in Wisconsin and LA Distributing in California. As well, the company is launching a new alkaline water available in 1 Liter bottles and will be adding additional SKUs over the coming months.
Looking ahead, Muchnick said the brand’s messaging and identity will remain the same. He noted the company will continue to work with charities such as the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. As well, he said Positive Beverage has received interest from other potential influencers who could join the company in the near future.