Burger bar forced to remove 'misogynistic' toilet decor
Almost Famous accused of 'woman-bashing' over writing on the wall telling women 'laxatives are the answer'
Almost Famous, a popular burger chain in northern England, has been forced to remove a list of slogans painted on the wall of the female bathrooms after growing online criticism.
Customers at the Leeds branch complained that the messages were sexist and misogynistic and played on female insecurities with slogans such as "my boobs are too small", "I wish I looked like Nicole Scherzinger", "Why can't I be thinner?" and "laxatives are definitely the answer".
Food writer Helen Graves addressed the issue in a blog post titled 'Fries with your misogyny, madam?' in which she calls the wall "pathetic woman-bashing".
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"Almost Famous think that misogyny and sexism is cool," she says, quoting a friend who said "we have enough of this sh*t already in magazines and other media".
The company has also been criticised for the names of some of the products on their menu. Their house cocktail is a gin blend called "bitch juice" and customers can order their chips with a side of "slut sauce", all of which Graves describes as blatantly anti-women.
In a statement on their website, Almost Famous said it was aware that the walls had "caused upset" and apologised with a picture of the writing being removed.
"Almost Famous is a young company, we take risks, but we got this one wrong," it said, claiming the idea for the design had come from one of their female employees.
There were widespread calls across social media to boycott the company.
However, some users defended the company, saying they appreciated the "informal" way the business conducted itself. Others simply dismissed the wall as humorous "banter".
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