A cup of Starbucks coffee has led to the firing of a news anchor and producer for a pro-government news station amid a backlash from viewers who boycotted the American company over rumors that it funds Israel.

Meltem Gunay, the host of the Turkish television news program TGRT Haber, was fired because the company Starbucks is considered a pro-Israeli symbol, writes News.ro.

The presenter appeared on the station with a cup of coffee of the American brand in the news broadcast on December 24, on Christmas Eve.

TGRT Haber announced that it had also fired the show’s producer.

The pro-government news channel said it made the decision after complaints from viewers who saw the blunder as an act of pro-Israeli provocation by the host.

The host apologized

The station announced its decision publicly in a statement.

“We do not approve and strongly condemn this act of the host and producer, whose employment contracts have been terminated,” the television said.

The TV channel motivated its decision by the fact that “indirect commercial advertising violates the channel’s rules.”

The station emphasized that it wanted to “control the sensitivities of the population (sector) of Gaza and the Turkish people.”

TGRT Haber published a letter from the anchor on its website in which she apologized, stressed that she was “sincerely sorry” and that “the sensitivities of (her) state and (her) nation have always been (her) priority.”

Meltem Gunay admitted that he made a mistake. “How could I have made such a mistake?” she said and announced that she would take the consequences.

Starbucks accused of supporting Israel

The scandal reignites tensions between Starbucks and several Muslim countries, where the American company is accused of “supporting Israel.”

At the beginning of December, the Moroccan press announced the departure of the chain of coffee shops from the country, but Starbucks denied this information.

This announcement was made after a public boycott since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas.

The boycott began with rumors – so far unsubstantiated – about former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, according to which the businessman offered financial aid to Israel.

According to another – unverified – terror, Starbucks would sue the union of its employees who have expressed their support for Palestine since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip.

“This is absolutely false,” the company said in October.

“Starbucks is a public company, and as such, it is required to disclose information about any corporate donation by proxy every year.”