Protesters decried a Washington, D.C. pizza restaurant chain’s advertising campaign that appeared to mock a former mayor while police officers stood guard to keep the peace, according to reports.
The protesters gathered outside &pizza on U Street on Wednesday after the restaurant released a menu named Marion Berry Knots in an apparent reference to former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, WTOP News reporter Nick Iannelli posted on X. The menu featured “Marrion Berry Knots” lying next to some powdered sugar, a picture shared by Iannelli shows. “Enough powder for you and a few friends!” the ad read in part, appearing to allude to Barry’s 1990 crack cocaine arrest.
“These knots will blow you away!” the ad further read.
Tension here at &Pizza after the restaurant chain released a menu item making fun of Marion Barry’s drug arrest from the 90s. Press conference happening in moments with speakers calling for the company to remove the item and apologize. @WTOP pic.twitter.com/vipuJ9d63U
— Nick Iannelli (@NickWTOP) October 23, 2024
The restaurant unveiled the menu Sunday, calling it a “new, secret menu item inspired by none other than the city’s vibrant political scene,” according to the society and culture website Eater Washington DC.
&pizza’s CEO David Burns reportedly punned that the new menu might “cross the lines of having too much fun” in the restaurant’s original advertisement that also partly read, “The Marion Berry Knots have enough powdered sugar that will have customers bumping elbows to order and even force the DEA to look twice.”
Protesters demanded that &pizza remove the menu item and apologize. (RELATED: Kamala Harris Patronizes Convenience Store Her Admin Sued For Allegedly Racist Background Checks)
Ward 8 council member Trayon White was at the protest, according to a video shared by Iannelli. “Today we stand in solidarity against &Pizza for what he’s trying to do in the spirit of profit. What you may not know is Marion Barry meant a lot to a lot of people,” White said in part.
Meanwhile, White is facing federal bribery charges.
BREAKING: DC Council member Trayon White, who is fighting federal bribery charges, is among the speakers here condemning &Pizza. @WTOP pic.twitter.com/cTgaZkdemj
— Nick Iannelli (@NickWTOP) October 23, 2024
“I just think it’s racist. In this city, it is outrageously racist. You can print that. It’s racist and disrespectful,” Barry’s widow, Cora Masters Barry, told DC News Now. &pizza had not reached out to her about the new menu’s apparent association with Barry, she added.
“We have a lot of people that have good pizza that are not racists,” Ronald Moten said as he called for a boycott of the pizza chain, according to Eater Washington DC.
Speakers here are calling for an aggressive protest at this U Street location of &Pizza. They are organizing it for Friday at 7PM. One speaker just announced “A storm is coming that you aren’t ready for.” @WTOP pic.twitter.com/AGbVQhlpKc
— Nick Iannelli (@NickWTOP) October 23, 2024
Ianelli also recorded videos showing a police presence outside the building.
Marionberries gained a lasting association with Barry because of the similarity of the names and Barry’s love for the fruit, according to the Washingtonian.
Several restaurants and drink businesses have referenced Barry in some of their products, but &pizza’s Marion Berry knots advertisement highlighted the powdered sugar element of the menu, Eater Washington DC reported.
Barry served as D.C.’s mayor for four terms, The Washington Post reported. Receiving a minor injury during a shooting in a siege of the city’s District Building by Hanafi Muslims in 1977, the then-DC Councilor survived and rode into his position as mayor less than two years later on the back of the resulting notoriety. The most influential and savvy local politician of his time, Barry nonetheless faced issues with alcohol and drug use as well as extramarital affairs. He served six months in a federal prison for drug charges but bounced back into office afterward.
Barry died Nov. 23, 2014 aged 78.
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
