Cinnabon deletes, apologizes for Carrie Fisher tweet after backlash

For brands, Twitter is an important tool to help finesse their product into pop-culture conversation. When social media is done right, companies like Arby's become entwined with talk of Pharrell and his oversized hat.

When it's done wrong, there's plenty of immediate backlash. Enter: Cinnabon.

On Tuesday night, the baked goods company apologized for a tweet it sent in the wake of news that Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher had died. "Our deleted tweet was genuinely meant as a tribute, but we shouldn't have posted it. We are truly sorry," the brand said.

That deleted tweet? It was a post with cinnamon-inspired Princess Leia, with a Cinnabon roll as hair. The caption: "RIP Carrie Fisher, you’ll always have the best buns in the galaxy."

To many, the message was seen as using a death to promote Cinnabon's product. Here's a sampling of the reaction to the Cinnabon tweet, which ranged from serious to sarcastic:

On the other hand, there were those who thought that the sardonic Fisher actually would have enjoyed the Cinnabon tweet.

Cinnabon first shared the cinnamon bun picture of Princess Leia earlier this year, on May 4's Star Wars Day. In that tweet, it said Leia had "the second-best rolls in the galaxy."

In response to a tweet that said, "you guys must wait all year for this one day to do that!" Cinnabon wrote, "You can't imagine!"

Cinnabon did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.