Trayvon Martin fundraiser cancelled after Twitter backlash over 'Skittles' flyer

theGRIO REPORT - A line on the flyer which said, 'Everyone free B4 11 with an empty bag of Skittles,' sparked the controversy...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Trayvon Martin’s death has galvanized the nation, and inspired many people to act — some in unusual or creative ways.

Bentley’s Lingerie Lounge in Greensboro, NC had planned to host a party tomorrow night in order to raise money for a scholarship named in honor of Trayvon, that, according to one party promoter’s Twitter feed, would be established by the NAACP.

The event was cancelled yesterday after an onslaught from Twitter followers of one of the party promotion groups, The Move Tonight Inc.

A line on the flyer that read, “Everyone free B4 11 with an empty bag of Skittles,” sparked the controversy.

There appeared to be confusion about the integrity of the event, because according to its promotional flyer — which reads, “Justice — In memory of Trayvon Martin,” atop a picture of the smiling 17-year-old, the party was using the death of this now symbolic teen to somehow attract party-goers.

Some Twitter followers said the message on the flyer was unclear.

“From what I was told, the promoters of the party were sending proceeds as well as the empty wrappers to Fl; should have put THAT on the flyer.”

The Move Tonight Inc (Twitter handle, @themove2night) said on their page about the event yesterday, “PROCEEDS from #Bentleys will be sent to the NAACP Scholarship Foundation and empty #Skittle bags are going to POLICE DEPT.”

This message was tweeted several times — to various followers — as if to clarify that the event was truly a fundraiser for Trayvon’s scholarship fund.

Finally, The Move Tonight Inc tweeted, “the flyer is down [because] it doesn’t have all the info on it. We was trying to give back not profit. It was miscommunication.”

The Move Tonight Inc apologized for all the confusion via Twitter.

Follow Briana Lopes on Twitter at @briananikohl

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