Krispy Kreme store in UK pulls 'KKK Wednesday' promotion

LONDON, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A Krispy Kreme branch in Hull, England, has canceled its "KKK Wednesday" promotion, after the company received complaints that the acronym is generally associated with the Ku Klux Klan hate group.

"Krispy Kreme apologizes unreservedly for the inappropriate name of a customer promotion at one of our stores," a Krispy Kreme spokeswoman said in a statement Tuesday.

"This promotion was never intended to cause offense. All material has been withdrawn and an internal investigation is currently underway," she said.

The "KKK Wednesday" promotion, which stands for "Krispy Kreme Klub Wednesday," attracted social media attention after it was posted to Krispy Kreme's U.K. Facebook page. The promotion was targeted at students during their semester break.

Really, Krispy Kreme? "KKK Wednesday"? (Bottom left.) From Krispy Kreme UK at https://t.co/l2KwV428YQ pic.twitter.com/wSFApqePOL

— M. Alex Johnson (@MAlexJohnson) February 17, 2015

The post has since been removed and the Hull branch has changed the name of the promotion.

"We don't have a new name for the event yet but it is still going ahead this week," a spokeswoman for the branch told the Hull Daily Mail.