After eight years with Oxfam, Scarlett Johansson steps down due to ties with SodaStream
Scarlett Johansson resigned from her role as global ambassador of Oxfam, an international aid organization, due to a relationship with SodaStream, a Tel Aviv-based soda machine company that allows users to carbonate their own beverages.
Twenty-nine-year-old Johansson had been receiving criticism for her position as spokesperson and involvement in a risqué SodaStream commercial set to air during the Super Bowl, which partly involves her seductively sipping from a straw.
A statement on the Oxfam website deemed Johansson’s promotion of SodaStream as incompatible with the responsibilities of Oxfam global ambassador.
Since the soda company operates in the West Bank settlement of Maaleh Adumim, home to approximately 350,000 Jewish settlers, Oxfam believes such businesses advance poverty and denial of Palestinian rights, which counteracts Oxfam’s goals.
The organization is also opposed to any trade from Israeli settlements, saying it is “illegal under international law.”
In a recent Los Angeles Times article, Johansson stood by her SodaStream work while continuing to be “a supporter of economic cooperation and social interaction between a democratic Israel and Palestine.”
Johansson began working with Oxfam in 2005 to raise awareness for natural disasters and funds for poverty-stricken individuals. Her inspiration to aid the organization stemmed from its response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Oxfam accepted her resignation Thursday.
