Yuvraj Singh's NGO deletes ad referring to breasts as 'oranges' amid backlash

"Check your oranges once a month," reads the tagline on one of Yuvraj Singh's non-profit's breast cancer awareness ads. It outraged people.

Yuvraj Singh's non-profit YouWeCan Foundation recently found themselves in the middle of a controversy over their new breast cancer awareness ad. People slammed the NGO for using the word “oranges” to refer to breasts. Several social media users, including a journalist, called the ad “insensitive” and “embarrassing”.

The image shows the ‘check your oranges’ breast cancer awareness ad that people slammed as “insensitive”. (X/@Erroristotle)

What caused the controversy?

It all started with an X post where a woman shared a picture of the ad after noticing it in Delhi Metro. She slammed the NGO for the campaign, questioning why breasts are called oranges in the ads. "Check your oranges once a month," says one of the taglines of the ad.

Many suspected the picture was AI-generated. It shows a woman standing in a bus holding two oranges in her hands. The other passengers, all women, are looking at her. A crate of oranges is also in the poster.

What did the journalist say?

Senior journalist Rituparna Chatterjee took to LinkedIn to share her opinion about the ad saying, “Check your breasts, not oranges, for lumps.”

“If we are unwilling to say the word "breast" for breast cancer, how on earth will we start dialogue and spread awareness? What is this prudishness? There is a reason why early sexual violence campaigners insist children are taught the actual names of private body parts so they can clearly articulate bad touch to their parents and authorities – vagina, penis,” she wrote.

Her post received several responses, including one from the NGO where they defended their campaign. However, following the backlash, the organisation has deleted a post about the campaign from the official Instagram page.

What did YouWeCan say?

The NGO started by thanking Chatterjee for sharing her thoughts, adding that every perspective and feedback is important. “At YouWeCan, we know firsthand how difficult it is to get people to talk openly about breast cancer. It's a topic that many avoid, unless it impacts them personally or someone close to them,” the NGO explained, adding that the use of oranges was a “bold choice” but “carefully thought” to break the silence surrounding breast cancer.

(HT.com has reached out to YouWeCan Foundation for a statement. This report will be updated when the NGO responds)

Addressing the backlash received, the NGO added, “We are proud that this campaign has already achieved significant success, with more and more people engaging with the topic positively and opening up vital conversations about early detection.”

What are your thoughts on this controversy?