M&S in sexism row over Porn Star Martini cocktail

Marks & Spencer has been caught up in a sexism row and accused of normalising porn over the launch of its new ready-to-drink Pornstar Martini cocktail in a can.

As reported by The Independent, feminist campaigning group Object accused Marks & Spencer of “normalising porn”.

“Marks & Spencer normalising porn,” a tweet read. “And if you try to complain online, the system rejects the word ‘porn’. Mixed messages huh?”

Angered parents on Mumsnet also weighed in, with several users complaining that they did not want to have to explain what a porn star is to their children while food shopping at M&S.

One Mumsnet user wrote: “It may be an actual cocktail, but I don’t madly want to explain to my small daughter what a porn star is, while shopping for cake.”

The Porn Star Martini is made with vanilla vodka, fresh passion fruit, passion fruit liqueur and lime juice, and is served with a shot of Champagne or Prosecco on the side. The cocktail was created in 2002 by bartender and LAB bar founder Douglas Ankrah at The Townhouse bar in Knightsbridge.

Ankrah first christened the cocktail the Maverick Martini, in a hat tip to a dodgy club in Cape Town, but later changed the name to the Porn Star Martini.

Last month, the cocktail knocked the Mojito off its perch to become the most popular cocktail in the UK, according to research by on-trade specialist CGA Strategy.

Off the back of the surging popularity of the drink, Pernod Ricard has revealed that its Absolut Vanilla brand is now the number one flavoured vodka in the UK on-trade.

The Porn Star Martini in a can at M&S