Multiple social media users are alleging that Five Below’s collaboration with hit musical Wicked is racist because the Elphaba products are watermelon scented.

“Watermelon for the black character?????????” one X user wrote.

Newsweek reached out to Five Below for comment.

Why It Matters

The National Museum of African American History and Culture explains the origin behind watermelon being viewed as a racist stereotype.

The museum states that many southern African Americans grew and sold watermelons after they were freed following the Civil War. Many white people in the South reacted by turning the fruit into a symbol of poverty, and it became a symbol of a feast for the "unclean, lazy and child-like,” according to the museum.

What To Know

In a TikTok video , two peopl

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