After posting a promotional piece about the NRL State Of Origin with accompanying text that made light of violence against women, Gary Wright, the general manager of Newtown‘s Coopers Hotel, has been fired by the pub’s licensees.
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The post – which has since been removed – featured a meme of Batman slapping Robin across the face for calling an NRL try a “touchdown”, and text claiming “Keep calm and slap a bitch as we approach the finals of this years NRL! Live & Loud every game!”
Less than an hour after the first post, it was edited to say “Keep calm and hug like you can’t take a joke”, which clearly just put the boot in and sparked a large backlash from the public, who turned hard on the pub and made their voices heard by giving the pub’s page a slew of one-star reviews, urging others to stay away from a space that seemingly doesn’t take violence against women seriously.
Wright later posted an apology after removing the post, and earlier today the licensees of the pub followed up with a public post to say that Wright had been given the sack for his behaviour online whilst representing the pub.
The pub’s Twitter account was picked apart by punters as well, where more negative comments about women were posted in efforts to promote cheap burgers earlier this month.
How not to use Social Media:
The Coopers Hotel in Newtown, mock women & joke about domestic violence in 2018https://t.co/BHGwl0BdJh pic.twitter.com/LECypuE2P3— Lisa Herrod (@scenariogirl) July 18, 2018
The uproar around the post and the way the Coopers Hotel conducted themselves has caused a lot of locals and others alike to warn others to steer clear of the pub, but there’s also evidence in the pub’s Facebook comments of discussion within other groups – namely those dedicated to men’s rights activism and free speech.
