Broward County removes dancing taco GIF posted for Hispanic Heritage Month after backlash

Broward County government has removed a dancing taco posted on its social media accounts for National Hispanic Heritage Month.

The animated GIF posted Wednesday featured a smiling taco holding multicolored maracas, with a swirl of sour cream for hair. Five hours later, the GIF was removed from the county’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

Hallandale Beach City Commissioner Sabrina Javellana called the post “extremely embarrassing” on Twitter — and others called for “sensitivity training,” expressing disgust with the county’s GIF selection.

Broward County spokesman Greg Meyer said the post was never intended to be offensive or funny but in celebration of Hispanic Heritage month.

“While I’m not Hispanic, I still think it could be perceived as being offensive and so therefore, we removed it,” he said.

Meyer also noted that the employee is being counseled on sensitivity of all cultures.

“A dancing taco is not representative of the Hispanic community and should not have been associated with the annual celebration,” he said.

About a third of the Broward County population is Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Broward County Mayor Steve Geller said the county government supports Hispanic communities and recognizes the contributions made to the economy and culture.

“I apologize for the mistake, but it was merely a lack of judgment on the part of a young employee,” he said.

Along with the post, the caption read that Hispanic Heritage Month begins on Sept. 15 to celebrate the independence of Latin American countries that include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Additionally, the post asked how people plan to celebrate the month.

Some Twitter users added that the post left Mexico out — where tacos originated.

This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 7:20 PM.