The widow of former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry and his estate sent a cease-and-desist letter to a pizza chain that marketed a new item called Marion Berry Knots in a campaign making light of the late “Mayor for Life's” drug use.
Cora Masters Barry and the former mayor's estate asked to meet with &pizza CEO Mike Burns after the pizza chain took down the controversial menu item, according to the letter signed by the estate's attorney, A. Scott Bolden.
Last week, the D.C.-based chain advertised a new menu item called "Marion Berry Knots," a dessert with marionberries. The advertising campaign referenced the former mayor's drug use.
"The Marion Berry Knots have enough powdered sugar that will have customers bumping elbows to order and even force the DEA to look twice,” &pizza said in ad copy full of drug references.
After protests from community members saying that the advertisement was made in "poor taste," &pizza removed the item from the menu.
"Candidly, we made a mistake," &pizza CEO Mike Burns began a statement Wednesday afternoon. "And for that, we sincerely apologize."
Marion Barry's widow and estate demand an apology
The cease-and-desist letter acknowledged the apology but said that the "disappointment, pain and despair" caused by the advertisement deserves more than a "public apology."
In the letter, Bolden told &pizza to stop using Barry's name, image or likeness.
"The exploitation of Mr. Barry’s legacy for profit, paired with tasteless references to substance abuse and criminality—particularly in a city where Black communities have borne the brunt of racially biased drug criminalization—is not just offensive, it is harmful," the letter said.
The letter also said that &pizza's apology didn't personally acknowledge Masters Barry and Barry's estate.
Bolden and law firm Reed Smith LLP requested a meeting with &pizza to "discuss a path forward toward meaningful accountability and making the estate whole" in the letter.
The attorney said they must receive a response by Oct. 29 to confirm the meeting or they will take further legal action.
