SodaStream claps back at Lyle Shelton’s homophobic tweet

Soft drink machine company SodaStream has posted a sassy social media takedown of Lyle Shelton’s criticism of its Pride Month celebration.

Australian Conservatives member and anti-LGBTI campaigner Shelton was none too pleased with SodaStream’s special Pride edition bottles, or its cute video celebrating rainbow families.

He took to Twitter to accuse the company of promoting “forced motherlessness”, claiming that people not following the queer “new world order” are being “punished”.

Shelton’s comments were overwhelmingly met with ridicule, and now the Australian branch of SodaStream has clapped back.

“Lyle, mate! Let’s take your conversation offline, and back to an era when this SodaStream machine was all the rage,” they posted, adding the hashtags #loveislove and #rightsideofhistory along with a SodaStream ad image from decades past.

Shelton was a prominent campaigner against marriage equality during last year’s Australian debate, and has since turned his attention to attacking other aspects of LGBTI civil rights.

Following this week’s news that The Greens have introduced a bill to stop religious schools in Western Australia from being able to expel and fire students and staff for being LGBTI, he claimed that retaining this right is a matter of “freedom” rather than discrimination or hate.

Lyle, mate! Let’s take your conversation offline, and back to an era when this SodaStream machine was all the rage #loveislove #rightsideofhistory pic.twitter.com/O8a5iI2MV2

— SodaStream Australia (@SodaStreamau) June 28, 2018

This is not about discrimination, it is about freedom of association. Many religions have different views about sexuality & it is not “hate” towards anyone to wish to be free to live out those different views in community. That is what freedom means. 1/2 https://t.co/2t83BmUXzb

— Lyle Shelton (@LyleShelton) June 28, 2018