The owner of a bar in Ashburn, Virginia, is apologizing for a shirt criticized as insensitive to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Until recently, Parallel Wine and Whiskey sold a black parody t-shirt that has the words "drunk wives matter" printed across the front.
A photo of the shirt circulated on social media over the weekend and led to a huge backlash against the bar and owner Jason Bursey. It even led to a protest outside his business.
"I will apologize if my shirt offended anyone," Bursey said Monday in a Facebook video.
The phrase is a clear reference to Black Lives Matter, a protest chant that has turned into a movement against police brutality and racism. The killing of George Floyd in police custody on Memorial Day has reinvigorated and brought new attention to the movement.
Some on social media said the shirt sold by Parallel mocked the movement and its goals.
Bursey said he sells several off-the-wall shirts that are meant to be funny.
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When a friend said last week that the shirt crossed a line, Bursey says he agreed and took it down.
"My shirts are not meant to be offensive. They are meant to be funny," he said.
Parallel Wine says he had been selling the shirt for more than a year. The same phrase is printed on merchandise sold by numerous online retailers.
