Washington bar pulls ‘Pill Cosby’ drink from the menu after national outcry

A WASHINGTON pop-up bar’s cocktail - the “Pill Cosby”, garnished with empty pill capsules - became a national topic of conversation Monday, when the bar’s owners came under fire from sexual assault victims and others who were angered and offended by the drink.

Diet Starts Monday, a retail and restaurant concept, originally said the drink was to raise bring awareness of sexual assault. Photos of the pill-topped cocktail, first reported by Washingtonian magazine, began to make their way around Twitter, where it became a national trending topic. Monday was also the day jury selection began for Bill Cosby, who is accused of sexual assault. Women who have spoken out about their alleged assault by Cosby have said that the actor drugged them.

On Twitter, the reaction was fierce and swift. People told the trio of men behind the bar that their sexual assault joke wasn’t funny. Money talks It wasn’t long before the restaurant pulled the drink off the menu, and apologised. Cofounders Davin Gentry, John Geiger and Kevin “Scooty” Hallums did not respond to a request for comment. They issued a statement on Twitter:

“This drink was not made with any intent to offend anyone, especially not victims of rape. We take full responsibility.”

“The drink has since been removed from the menu and we apologise to anyone who felt offended by this.”

Diet Starts Monday’s Yelp reviews are tanking quickly.

“Don’t give your money to a place that profits off rape jokes. More importantly, send a message to corporations that if they continue to normalize and poke fun at rape, their businesses will fail. Money talks. Let’s yell.” wrote Eileen C., one representative review.

And one photo on Twitter showed a “Rapey Douches” sign added to the business’s front door.

The restaurant is around the corner from longtime Washington restaurant Ben’s Chili Bowl, which considered Cosby an honoured guest and included the comedian in a mural on its wall. That mural was painted over in January, after months of pressure on the restaurant’s owners to remove it, although the owners said the decision was made because the facade needed refreshing.