UPDATE: "Drunken Negro Face" Cookies On Sale at Greenwich Village Bakery (in honor of Obama)

Gothamist ^ | 1/23/09

[LibWhacker]

[UPDATE BELOW] At at a time when any decent baker should have been selling racially harmonious black and white cookies by the truckload, one Greenwich Village bakery popular with celebrities and shows like Sex and the City has outraged neighbors by selling a "Drunken Negro Face" cookie in, um, "honor" of President Obama. [Video below.] A shocked customer tells My Fox NY that Ted Kefalinos, proprietor of Lafayette French Pastry, asked her, "Would you like some drunken negro heads to go with your coffee? They're in honor of our new president. He's following in the same path of Abraham Lincoln; he will get his."

Later, her friend stopped by the bakery and said Kefalinos corrected her about the name of the cookies—they're actually drunken "N-word" cookies. She says the backwards baker then repeated the dark suggestion that, like Lincoln, President Obama "will get what's coming to him." Go Secret Service, go!

And it gets worse when Fox's Arnold Diaz goes into the store with a camera and microphone to confront Kefalinos, who suddenly makes Joe the Plumber look like a Rhodes scholar. "I called them Drunken Negro Heads. What's the problem with that?" Kefalinos asks the newscaster with a smirk. "On Inauguration Day I thought it would be cool to change the name to Obama Heads. I just changed it for the day." We suppose Burning Cross Bananas Foster was too complicated to mass-produce.

Kefalinos denies intimating that Obama would be assassinated, and insists that the cookie is "not unflattering. I think it's a fun face... And anyone who says anything else should be ashamed of themselves." Besides, nobody got upset about the "Dead Geese Bread" he sold after the recent Hudson River plane crash. (We're NOT making that up.) Also, Kefalinos insists he can't be racist because, for one thing, "my brother-in-law, he's Cuban." Below, behold the breathtaking train wreck of racist ignorance.

UPDATE: We just spoke with Kefalinos on the phone and he remains utterly oblivious, telling us, "This whole thing was blown out of proportion." He says he's sold out of the "Drunken Negro Cakes" and doesn't plan to make anymore, despite the fact that many customers have been requesting them (he claims). When asked whether he understands that most African-Americans find the word "negro" offensive, Kefalinos explains, "It's a French word. It comes from the French."

[arderkrag]

one Greenwich Village bakery popular with celebrities and shows like Sex and the City has outraged neighbors by selling a "Drunken Negro Face" cookie in, um, "honor" of President Obama

This is an honor?

[Tarpon]

Quite an artist.

[DogBarkTree]

Looks more like Michelle than Barak.

[yobid]

When asked whether he understands that most African-Americans find the word "negro" offensive, Kefalinos explains, "It's a French word. It comes from the French."

Then let's do away with the United Negro College Fund if it's so offensive.

[Badeye]

‘We suppose Burning Cross Bananas Foster was too complicated to mass-produce. ‘

ROTFLMAO!

He should blame the horseface, the slut, giraffe neck, and the cute chick (Sex in the City cast) for it.

[subterfuge]

I’m guessing this thread gets pulled BTZ.

[manc]

When asked whether he understands that most African-Americans find the word “negro” offensive, Kefalinos explains, “It’s a French word. It comes from the French.”

Then let’s do away with the United Negro College Fund if it’s so offensive.

EXACTLY
yet again double standards from the left

[Thumper1960]

Oh no! That would be a shame.

[Melinda]

That's pretty amusing in a warped way. What's that old saying, there's no such thing as bad publicity? He already knows his customer, and since he's tasteless, they probably are too. In a slow-down, look at the free publicity he's getting. If he does mail order, he'll probably make a killing.

[Reagan Man]

>>>>>Looks more like Michelle than Barak.

LMAO

[softwarecreator]

If Bush was President and they were selling “Drunken Bush Face” ccokies, it’d be called freedom of expression and they’d be hailed as heroes.

[MeanWestTexan]

Tacky, but it’s a free country.

For now.

(Not sure who is more bothersome in this story, the PC-mad reporter or the baker.)

[MeanWestTexan]

“If Bush was President and they were selling “Drunken Bush Face” ccokies, it’d be called freedom of expression and they’d be hailed as heroes”

BING BING BING Winner!

[HungarianGypsy]

Or never say black in Spanish.

[proud American in Canada]

We suppose Burning Cross Bananas Foster was too complicated to mass-produce.

LOL!

[50sDad]

I believe that during the recent fundraising special, it was refered to as “the UNCF”. Kinda like what they did to Kentucky Fried Chicken to help you forget the great big word “Fried” in there.

[Between the Lines]

Update to update:Baker Now Apologizes for "Drunken Negro Face" Cookies

After the controversy over the "Drunken Negro Face" cookies he claimed were in honor of President Obama, Lafayette French Pastry proprietor Ted Kefalinos has finally apologized. He told the Daily News, "I'm sorry that people were offended by the cookie. We were just trying to make a large number of people happy, and instead we made a large number of people confused and angry."

The cookie crumbled after customers at the Greenwich Village bakery told My Fox NY's Arnold Diaz about the offensive treats—and how Kefalinos allegedly said, "They're in honor of our new president. He's following in the same path of Abraham Lincoln; he will get his." Kefalinos denied the cookies were racist. When we spoke to him, he explained, "This whole thing was blown out of proportion," and said of the word "negro," "It's a French word. It comes from the French."

My Fox NY headed to the bakery for a follow-up, where Kefalinos played messages left on his answering machine—some were telling him the cookies were offensive while others were more serious threats (one mentioned burning his store down.

Kefalinos told My Fox NY, "Seriously, from the bottom of my heart, it was an innocent design I created. It was nothing more than just a piece of art." Also, the NYPD is aware of the threats made to Kefalinos, who is now recording all his phone calls.

[top 2 toe red]

Who is the idiot writer of this column? Making fun of Joe the Plumber in this ignorant piece? Sounds to me like this ‘reporter’ would say anything to try and prove his point, I believe nothing he says therefore.

[Zeppelin]

you’re absolutely right...theyd be selling saltines soaked in whiskey and calling them “Drunken Redneck Bush Crackers”...and nobody could be offended or they’d be racist for being offended.