A conservative mothers' group has accused Burger King of “crossing the line” by airing an advert with the word “damn” in it to promote its non-meat product.

Activists from One Million Moms, an American group that aims to pressure media companies, have called on the fast-food chain to remove the advert or edit out what they call “the d-word”.

In the Burger King advert, which was posted online in August, customers are asked to taste-test a vegan version of the chain’s signature Whopper.

The advert drew the conservative group’s ire after one customer, who had just taken a bite out of the burger, said “damn, that’s good”.

The conservative group said the comment made Burger King’s commercial “irresponsible and tasteless”.

Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Show all 13 1 /13 Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Miley Cyrus The pop singer is a passionate animal rights advocate, telling Vanity Fair in 2019 that her diet also reflects her fashion choices: "I’m challenging the system more than ever. Choosing to live as a sustainable vegan activist means wearing more vintage (less waste; loving pieces for longer), playing with the newest eco-materials and technology, and making custom vegan pieces with some of my favorite designers." Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Alicia Silverstone The Clueless star went vegan shortly after wrapping the hit 1990s film and has been a passionate campaigner for animal rights since. Speaking in a video for Compassionate Meals in 2017, she said: "Knowing the truth about where our food comes from is just so disturbing to me. Once you see it, there’s no way to go back from that for me." Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Simon Cowell The music mogul revealed in a recent interview with The Sun that he decided to give up animal products earlier this year "on a whim", adding that he feels much better as a result. Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Venus Williams "I started for health reasons," Williams told Health in 2019. "I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and I wanted to maintain my performance on the court. Once I started I fell in love with the concept of fueling your body in the best way possible. Not only does it help me on the court, but I feel like I’m doing the right thing for me." Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Natalie Portman The American-Israeli actor decided to go vegan eight years ago after learning more about the environmental consequences of eating animal products. Speaking at an Environmental Media Awards benefit, 2017, she said: "Factory farming is responsible for most of the air, water, and land pollution - that disproportionately affects our poor communities as well. So we get to make decisions three times a day, what we do with our planet, and you can make a difference by even once a day or once a week choosing not to eat animals or animal products." AFP/Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Beyoncé While she chooses to refer to herself as plant-based as opposed to vegan, the 'Halo' singer underwent a 22-day vegan challenge with husband Jay-Z in 2013 and is believed to have maintained the diet ever since. Writing in the foreword of The Greenprint: Plant-Based Diet, Best Body, Better World by Marco Borges, the couple say: "We used to think of health as a diet – some worked for us, some didn’t. Once we looked at health as the truth, instead of a diet, it became a mission for us to share that truth and lifestyle with as many people as possible." Getty/Coachella Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman David Haye The British boxer extolled the virtues of veganism in an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 2016: "A lot of the meat that people eat has been genetically modified, or if it hasn’t then the food the animal’s been fed has been. That’s tough for a human being to process, so cutting it out made me feel immediately better and stronger than ever." Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Ariana Grande The 'Dangerous Woman' singer announced she was going vegan in November 2018. Speaking to The Daily Mirror in a recent interview, she explained: "A lot of the meat that people eat has been genetically modified, or if it hasn’t then the food the animal’s been fed has been. That’s tough for a human being to process, so cutting it out made me feel immediately better and stronger than ever." AFP/Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Ellie Goulding The British singer has been toying with veganism for a while, having been a vegetarian for seven years. Speaking to The Cut in 2018, she revealed that she will "never eat fish or meat again" and eats a predominantly vegan diet. Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Mike Tyson The former heavyweight boxing champion revealed he had become vegan in 2010. "I wish I was born this way," he told Fox News in 2011. "When you find out about the processed stuff you have been eating. I wonder why I was crazy all those years." Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Jessica Chastain The Zero Dark Thirty star decided to go vegan roughly 13 years ago because of low energy. Speaking to W Magazine in 2017, she clarified: "being vegan was not anything I ever wanted to be. I just really was listening to what my body was telling me." Getty Images Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Rooney Mara Mara has been vegan for eight years, telling Harper's Bazaar in 2018 "it’s better for your health and the environment.” Getty Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman Kim Kardashian Reality star Kim Kardashian West revealed that she has started eating a plant-based diet on Instagram in April 2019. Sharing two photographs of vegan dishes on her Instagram story, the 38-year-old wrote: “I am eating all plant-based when I am at home.” Getty

“The language in the commercial is offensive, and it’s sad that this once family restaurant has made yet another deliberate decision to produce a controversial advertisement instead of a wholesome one,” the group wrote on its website.

“It is extremely destructive and damaging to impressionable children viewing the commercial.

“We all know children repeat what they hear.”

Burger King has been approached for comment on the criticism.

One Million Moms is a division of the American Family Association, a non-profit evangelical Christian group that has been described as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Centre for its campaigns against LGBT rights.

The mothers' group has launched a number of campaigns against LGBT+ representation in the media, including a successful attempt to force the Hallmark Channel to pull an advert that featured same-sex couples last month.

After a backlash against Hallmark for removing the advert, it was reinstated and the company admitted it had made the “wrong decision”.

Another recent One Million Moms campaign criticised the bookseller Barnes & Noble for stocking a book about a pig with a clear resemblance to Donald Trump who becomes the president.

About 9,000 people have signed a petition so far calling for Burger King to cancel or edit its commercial.

The supposed controversy is also not the first time the fast-food chain has gotten into trouble over its meatless Whopper.

In November, a vegan customer sued the chain for allegedly cooking its meat-free product on the same grills as the meat version.