Hooooo boy.
An Australian-themed bar and restaurant in Arlington, Virginia has come under fire for using a didgeridoo as the delivery mechanism for a four-in-one gimmick shooter.
An image advertising the US $20 drink special was posted onto Oz Restaurant and Bar’s Instagram account, where it was singled out for being hugely offensive to Indigenous Australian cultures.
The image appears to have been removed from Oz Restaurant and Bar’s account, and the venue did not immediately offer a statement or apology regarding the promotion.
However, one user reposted the image and commented “this is not good enough.
“You don’t just disrespect Indigenous peoples, expect to profit from us through this and other means and not even apologise.”
Others have taken to Facebook to voice their opinion, with one
saying “me and the boys were hoping to eat some avocado toast off something sacred, you don’t happen to have plates made from excavated remains or a chunk of Uluru do you?
PEDESTRIAN.TV reached out to the venue for comment.
A spokesperson said the bar’s Aussie owner Michael Darby and wife Ashley Boalch-Darby – who also appears on the Real Housewives of Potomac – originally purchased the instrument in Australia, only to saw holes out of it to make room for the shot glasses.
The representative said
“it was kind of a fun thing to do, or at least we thought so,” and confirmed the bar has removed the promotion from sale.
They said they didn’t expect “all the negative feedback from Australians on Instagram and on our Facebook page,” and that there were “no negative intentions” behind the promotion.
The venue’s representative also claimed the drink promotion, which has been in place since the venue opened more than a year ago, had “never been an issue” before now.
PEDESTRIAN.TV was told Australian members of the local women’s AFL team, which is sponsored by the venue, have drunk from the didgeridoo.
Source and photo: Oz Restaurant and Bar / Instagram.
