Montreal Bar Owner Defends Rape Joke Sign as 'Harmless'

A Montreal bar owner is sticking up for his sense of humor after making jokes about rape on his bar's sign and jokes about domestic violence on the bar's Facebook page. Eater Montreal reports that on Tuesday Nacho Libre had the following message written on their sidewalk blackboard, translated from French: "Pick-up line of the day: does this tissue smell like chloroform?" The restaurant had also posted a picture of the signboard to Facebook in a post that has since been deleted. In another deleted Facebook post, the restaurant made a domestic violence joke, translated from French: "I like my beer like I like my violence: domestic."

La promotion du viol & violence domestique c'est TELLEMENT drôle #not. Bravo au restaurant Nacho Libre. #Ark #fail pic.twitter.com/AneVCyGaTg

— Marc-Olivier GL (@marcoliviergl) February 19, 2014

In a statement posted by Eater Montreal, the bar owner (who asked to remain anonymous) said:

"We thought it was harmless. The joke is from the movie Hall Pass and Family Guy. It wasn't intended to offend anyone or to condone rape or violence. We kind of find it mind-boggling. We're not promoting rape here. We're not saying that rape is normal and that people should be getting raped. It's dark humour, not for kids, but apparently some people choose to interpret it differently."

Needless to say, many Montreal residents are not amused, leaving Facebook reviews saying that the bar has lost customers. Unfortunately, Nacho Libre isn't the first bar to think misogyny is a good way to get business. Back in October, an Austin bartender was fired for making the same domestic beer joke on his bar's chalkboard sign, while a bar owner in Spokane, WA recently refused to remove a "Date Grape Koolaid" drink from his menu despite protests held outside his bar.

· Misogyny and Rape Jokes Fall Flat for Nacho Libre [Eater Montreal]
· All Scandals Coverage on Eater [-E-]