UK supermarket bans sale of kiwis to the under-25 set to protect Harry Styles
After a video surfaced of singer Harry Styles slipping on one of the kiwis he was pelted with during a show in London on October 30, ASDA supermarket‘s Hulme location banned the sale of the fuzzy fruit to anyone under the age of 25 in advance of the pop star’s appearance in Manchester.
Styles, the former One Direction member turned solo musician-slash-actor, is connected to the fruit through his song “Kiwi.” It has become something of a tradition since his tour began for fans to throw the brown-on-the-outside, green-on-the-inside fruit at the softhearted musician during his performance of his rock’n’roll hit - which, incidentally, never actually mentions “kiwis” save for in the title.
This particular ASDA location clearly recognized a solemn duty - as the closest supermarket to the 02 Apollo Manchester venue, where Styles performed on November 2 - to protect one of the U.K.’s finest creations since TopShop. The ban included heavy surveillance of kiwi activity and the checking of IDs.
“We know our customers love Harry Styles and we feel it’s our duty to protect a fellow Mancunian from any ‘bad kiwis’ amongst us,” an ASDA spokesperson explained in a press release emailed to media outlets before Styles’ second Manchester performance. “We’d hate to see a repeat of the mishap this evening, so to avoid any slippery situations, we feel this is a necessary measure.”
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