Ponsonby 'Ghetto Girl' smoothie renamed after social media backlash

The renamed smoothie, now called 'Go Girl' following complaints, seen in the bottom right corner of the Blitzd menu. Photo / Instagram

A chocolate flavoured "Ghetto Girl" smoothie has been quickly pulled from an Auckland food truck's menu following backlash on social media calling the name racist.

Blitzd owner Maddie Brogan, 22, renamed the smoothie bowl to "Go Girl" a day after opening her business in Ponsonby Central, saying she never meant to upset anyone.

A photo of the chocolate smoothie bowl shared to Instagram and a photo of Brogan and another staff member in the truck with "Ghetto Girl" visible on the menu caused many to message the business saying the name was inappropriate.

Negative reactions to the smoothie name on Instagram. Photo / Supplied

A new photo, posted on Monday, shows the name has now been changed and the other posts were deleted.

Dione Iuisitini-Cook, 20, was one of the people who took issue with the smoothie name, messaging the Blitzd Instagram page on Monday to say so.

"I found it really offensive to be honest,' she told the Herald.

"I don't think they were out to hurt anybody but it needs to be addressed or these things will keep happening."

Iuisitini-Cook, who is half Samoan, said she believed there was "underlying racism' in the name.

A now-deleted post with a description of the 'Ghetto Girl' smoothie. it has now been renamed to 'Go Girl'. Photo / Supplied

"Using 'Ghetto Girl', that term originates from something really discriminatory.

"I don't think it's a coincidence they made it their chocolate smoothie."

Iuisitini-Cook was happy Brogan had apologised and changed the name, but was worried she didn't understand why people were upset in the first place.

"Ghetto is linked to things like poverty, and people living in low socioeconomic areas in New Zealand are primarily people of Maori and Pacific Island descent and we do have brown skin."

A sociology student at the University of Auckland, Iuisitini-Cook said she was particularly able to recognise when something was racist.

But she thought most people would see the problem with the name "Ghetto Girl".

The old menu, seen in an Instagram post which has now been deleted. Photo / Supplied

"My friend knows some of the girls and they are around my age - I'm only 20 so it's not like I'm old or anything but we should know things like this. If I can recognise this then they should too."

Blitzd owner Brogan told the Herald she changed the name because she wanted to "stop the hate mail I was getting in my inbox on Instagram".

"The comments they made on the photo I put up on my Instagram page were calling me ignorant, racist.

"They said 'oh a bunch of white people think they can be cool'. They basically told me I was being racist by being racist to me."

Brogan, who was audibly upset by the backlash she had received, said her father was a Cook Islander and the country was her "second home".

"My skin is white but my blood is Cook Island."

Anyone could live in a ghetto and it wasn't supposed to imply "anything racial", Brogan said.

She made a public apology on Instagram in the hopes people would accept it and move on.

"I can see why people could take it in the way they did, but I think that it has been blown out of proportion."

Another smoothie on Blitzd's menu, which has not drawn criticism. Brogan said she hoped people would accept her apology and move on. Photo / Instagram