The promotion behind a new dessert at a local pizza chain is leaving some upset.
In its newest social media campaign promoting a new dessert item, &pizza unveiled its “Marion Berry Knots.”
The campaign included phrases like “They’ll blow you away,” and “It’s criminal how good these are.” The promotional ads also show baggies of powdered sugar, as well as mounds of sugar on small mirrors, which appear to resemble cocaine.
All appear to attempt to poke fun at the high-profile arrest and conviction of former four-term D.C. Mayor Marion Barry on crack cocaine possession charges in 1990.
The actual desserts feature marionberries and vanilla icing.
Ronald Moten with the organization Don’t Mute DC said the marketing campaign for the dessert has left him and others outraged.
“(Marion Barry) is not here to defend himself. He’s gone and you dump this trash on his name? It’s disrespectful,” Moten told WTOP.
He also believes the campaign makes light of the serious topic of substance abuse.
“We have a lot of people in our community who are suffering with addiction, and it’s like you’re making fun of them and Marion Barry,” Moten said.
Moten said he and others are organizing a boycott of the restaurant which includes protesting outside three D.C. locations Friday and Saturday night.
“We are appalled, and we feel like anybody who steps in &pizza doesn’t have a moral compass at this point,” he said.
In statement to WTOP, a spokesperson for Barry’s widow, Cora Masters Barry, said she was “blindsided” by the promotional campaign.
D.C. Council member Christina Henderson also called the promotion “tone deaf” and “disrespectful.”
WTOP has reached out to &pizza for comment.
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