A Waterloo kebab shop has issued a lengthy apology after posting a homophobic and violent meme on Facebook, despite being in one of the “gayest suburbs” in Sydney.
Earlier this week, the owner of the Yilmaz Grill & Bakehouse shared the following post on Facebook, urging anyone who “supports these clows” to unfriend him.
As you’d expect, the post prompted backlash from the LGBTQI+ community in the area, with one local posting in a community group urging the gays to boycott the business. 
On Friday afternoon, Yilmaz Grill & Bakehouse took to Facebook to issue a lengthy “apology” for the post, asking for forgiveness.
“Lets start with an apology to the LGBT community that I have enraged. I would sincerely ask you guys for your forgiveness. It wasn’t meant at picking a fight or cause division,” the post read, in part.
Throughout the post, the owner of the kebab shop also offered a reason for his homophobic remarks.
In a lengthy explanation, the owner alleges that his friend was sexually abused by a gay man, and ultimately took his life as a result. Whether this is true or not – and it’s very hard to verify – it should go without saying that it does not excuse homophobia.
The owner concluded the post by explaining how the pandemic has ruined his livelihood, telling readers that he’d appreciate it if they removed any negative reviews of the business.
“I hope you guys can find it in your heart to forgive me and accept my apology. Covid is already ruining my livelihood and all the comments and reviews don’t help. I am not asking anyone to delete them, but after hearing my side of the story, if you do, I would very appreciate it.”
However, many don’t feel like the apology is enough, pointing out that elements of the apology are in and of themselves homophobic.
“Apology NOT accepted,” one local wrote.
Many users also pointed out that the alleged actions of one individual do not reflect the community as a whole.
“Since when is a whole community responsible for the crimes of an individual?” One user wrote.
