Pub apologizes, removes controversial photo of Jesus after extreme backlash: 'Absolutely disgraceful!'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An Australian pub received a barrage of hateful and threatening comments slamming the eatery as “disgusting” and “disrespectful.” (iStock)
An Australian pub has deleted an image of Jesus and issued an apology after facing extreme backlash on social media.
Mary’s Newtown in New South Wales received a barrage of hateful and threatening comments slamming the eatery as “disgusting” and “disrespectful” for its controversial post, which featured Jesus holding a cigarette and a beer.
“Jesus got hammered for his sin, you can too. Open from 12 Good Friday and ALL long weekend,” the since-deleted post read, news.com.au reported.
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The photo, which was posted right before Easter, sparked a negative response with many within the religious community.
Though the post was taken down, those offended by the image left poor reviews on the pub’s Facebook page — which are still there.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“any place that needs to mock someones faith to sell their business is a disgrace. Absolutely disgusting. Shame on you,” one reviewer wrote.
“Their recent post is highly offensive and has caused me to imagine their menu lacking taste and very bitter. Absolutely disgraceful!!” one wrote, leaving a “Do Not Recommend” tag on his post.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Extremely unprofessional means of advertisement. Highly discriminatory and disrespectful. As a business, there should be a high level of respect towards their customers - no matter their beliefs and values and therefore, should keep personal beliefs separate from business. Will definitely be boycotting this entire place for their poor representation and reputation as well as their disgusting food and service,” one wrote, calling for a boycott on the pub.
“Absolutely disgusting!! Do not give this place the light of day their food is just as disgusting as their social media posts,” another commented on Facebook.
Yahoo Australia reported religious Facebook page Orthodox Christianity fueled the negative comments by asking their followers to “Please give this place a bad rating, they are Mocking our Lord Jesus Christ.”
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Mary's Newtown published an apology post on Instagram stating the Facebook picture was never meant to offend anyone and that they decided to remove it after receiving "threats of sexual and physical violence" against the staff.
Mary’s Newtown currently has a 3.6 out of 5 rating on its page.