A pirate-themed bar in Washington state has received backlash over a social media post promoting an event that encouraged people to catch COVID-19.
The Vessel Taphouse, located in Lynnwood, not only received backlash from three bands that had been scheduled to play at the event but from four employees who quit and members of the community, according to the Daily Herald.
“AG will not be playing at the Vessel Taphouse tonight,” heavy rock band Atrocity Girl wrote in a Facebook post. “After talking it over, we feel really disturbed that this post was ever allowed to be made. We do not condone this behavior and do not think COVID is a joke.”
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In a now-deleted Facebook post, the bar advertised its “I’m too sick to attend” show, promoting the event by offering discount prices for people who tested positive for COVID-19.
“Come see the show, maybe catch the virus or just stay home and whine,” the post said. “Tickets 10 bucks or 6 with proof of Omicron positive test!!”
The owner of the bar, Steve Hartley, told the outlet that the post, which was an “ill-advised attempt at humor” had been written by an employee who was fired after the fact.
“We were getting comments that we were trying to infect the public,” said Hartley. “Clearly we have no interest in that. People aren’t going to come and drink if they get sick, and we know that.”
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The post by the bar “was the wrong way to vent” frustrations regarding state and local mandates currently in place, one of the employees who quit told the outlet anonymously. “I, and most of my friends, will not be back. That bridge is burned,” she said while admitting that the owners never told employees to dodge mandates.
“You are free to exercise your 1st Amendment rights and comment. Vessel is free to delete these posts,” Cheryl Middleton, an attorney for the bar, wrote in an Instagram post. “It is NEVER acceptable to advocate violence,” she continued, advising people to “STOP NOW.”
To date, there have been a total of 74,328,530 coronavirus-related cases in the United States, according to data from the New York Times. There have been a total of 883,370 coronavirus-related deaths.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Vessel Taphouse for a comment but did not receive a response.
