This Irish billboard was pulled after insulting transgender people

Transgender people in Ireland were angered by an ad for cellphone carrier Three which said “It turned out he was a she … after you’d used all your data”.

Here’s a photo of the transphobic billboard, posted by an unimpressed twitter user:

“Three Ireland’s advert reinforces the idea that trans people are, and will forever be, the sex we were coercively assigned at birth,” Jude Orlando Enjolras, one of the transgender people speaking out against the ad, told Dazed. “More worryingly still, the wording of the ad perpetuates the myth of trans people as liars, deceivers, “traps.” We live in a world where trans people, especially trans women, are targets for discrimination, harassment, and violence,”

Following the backlash, a spokesperson for Three Ireland told Fusion the company has since decided to discontinue the ad.

“Firstly we would like to apologise for the offence which this ad has caused, it certainly was not our intention. This ad is part of a wider Three campaign that gives examples of when you can often miss the crucial moments when streaming TV shows, films or sporting events because you’ve used all of your data,” the spokesperson said. “For example another advert in this campaign is ‘Sorry Vodafone customers, your team scored in extra time after you’d used all your data’. Having realised that it has caused offence this ad design will be discontinued from the campaign.”

Initially, the company posted another response on Facebook, offering an apology of sorts and explaining the wider campaign, but not saying they would take down the ad.