Stand-up comedian Aamer Rahman, best known for his viral reverse racism routine, has taken to his official Facebook page to slam Melbourne restaurant FAT Fried and Tasty for using racist posters that he’s cited as an example of gentrification.
“Melbourne hipsters pay tribute to a dead black artist by opening a Biggie Smalls themed fried chicken restaurant, ‘The Notorious F.A.T’, complete with photoshopped mural of Biggie holding a fried chicken drumstick,” Rahman wrote.
The restaurant, which is located in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, also features wallpaper depicting the Aunt Jemima minstrel character as well as, disturbingly, “pictures of white families with guns. You cannot make this stuff up”.
Rahman accompanied his post with images taken from inside the restaurant, including an iconic image of late hip-hop legend The Notorious B.I.G., which has been Photoshopped to look as though the rapper is holding a piece of fried chicken.
In the wake of Rahman’s post, FAT Fried and Tasty’s official Facebook page has been flooded with angry commenters who were previously unaware of the restaurant’s more than questionable decor. “Hopefully these racist ignoramuses will go out of business pretty soon,” one commenter wrote.
The backlash has prompted the owners to issue a response: “When my cousin Terrence and I took the plunge and decided to open our own restaurant last year our idea was to cook comfort food, and mix it with a bright, bold and fun experience for everyone who dined with us.”
“We brought Mum and Dad’s secret fried chicken recipe with us, chose the music we grew up with, and mixed it with retro decor and a South[ern] American theme. It was that simple. We knew what we liked and wanted to share.”
Today in gentrification: Melbourne hipsters pay tribute to a dead black artist by opening a Biggie Smalls themed fried…
Posted by Aamer Rahman onTuesday, February 9, 2016
“At no stage did we set out to upset anyone with our decor, and for those we have offended we apologise as it was never our intention for FAT to be anything but a great place to eat.” Speaking to The Guardian, the owners were more defiant.
“In terms of the way some people have gone about it, they’ve just trolled our Facebook and social media with no regards for us as a small business, and without hearing our explanation or our side of the story,” a co-owner who did not want to be named told the paper.
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“We by no means were trying to be racist, we were merely showing Biggie Smalls as a figure and how much we love him,” he added, explaining that the Aunt Jemima poster was “1950s artwork” intended to show people “how far we’ve come since then”.
The owner said the restaurant would take some time to consider whether or not to take the offending posters and mural down. “We’ll discuss it at a later date,” he told The Guardian. “At the moment, we’re just being trolled.”
