Coffee shop accused of racism and fatphobia after ‘no fatties’ sign put on bench

F*ckoffee also drew backlash for a sign reading: 'This is the longest that something made in China has ever lasted.'

A coffee shop has been accused of fatphobia, racism and transphobia following a series of signs posted outside their east London cafe.

F*ckoffee, in Bethnal Green, has faced a furious backlash after posting images on social media of a bench outside their shop reading ‘sorry no fatties’.

Hundreds of social media users have since called out other signs outside their store, including one from January that reads: ‘This is the longest that something made in China has ever lasted.’

The store has continuously defended the signs and memes shared on social media as ‘jokes’ but admitted some may find them ‘offensive’ and issued an apology.

Luisa-Christie, 31, from London, shared the pictures on a Twitter thread writing: ‘Hi @F*ckoffee_HQ wtf is this? Just got sent this by a friend & before you defend as “dark humour” it’s not – it’s fatphobia.

‘If the bench isn’t strong to be sat on then don’t put it outside your coffee shop, or alternatively make it strong so anyone / multiple people can sit…’

Writer and presenter Chanté Joseph shared an Instagram video calling out the cafe she described as a ‘rotting pile of bricks’, writing: ‘F*ckoffee is an aged coffee shop in Bethnal Green that thinks fatphobia, racism and rape jokes are a unique form of humor.

‘If you live in that area I suggest you find somewhere else to buy your coffee.’

A former employee told Metro.co.uk the shop is run by ‘two white dudes in their 50s’ and that she regularly heard ‘very problematic’ and ‘oppressive stuff’.

Laurine Payet, 22, who worked at the coffee shop between February and March, said: ‘On my first day [Adrian] told me not to say “sir” or “madam” to anyone… because it “can annoy whatever they are”.

‘There’s rainbow flags outside and inside the shop – it’s attractive for queer people but it’s a marketing thing.

‘He knows there are lots of queer people in east London. But the signs they have put up are very offensive.’

The store previously drew backlash and were accused of transphobia for a meme shared in 2019, while Laurine pointed to another sign reading: ‘Please don’t feed the crackies.’

‘He kept telling me never to give the leftovers to homeless people and just throw it away,’ she added.

She said she was sacked via text by a colleague after three weeks and replaced by the person she had trained up the day before.

Their website states that they support freedom of expression and that it supports communities in need in West Papua through their coffee supply chain.

Following the backlash, the shop posted a statement across its social media channels, reading: ‘I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any racially insensitive imagery that has been posted on behalf of F*ckoffee. I take full responsibility.

‘As a black person, I saw this as satirical and mocking the stereotypes with which society stigmatises us.

‘My perspective is not yours, and you should not be forced to view it.

‘I will stress that our humour may cut close to others’ sensitivities, but at no point does it emanate malicious intent.’

It came after a previous post, that has now been deleted, insisted: ‘We are not racist. We are not sexist.

‘You guys have spoken and we listened. But it really is down to choice. F*ckoffee never seeks to exclude and encourages freedom to express.

‘This account has adult content and humour and we make “jokes” because the world can be a harsh place to live in and so we mock ourselves.’

But Luisa-Christie, a social media agency founder, told Metro.co.uk the apologies did not go far enough and that their ‘jokes’ are made ‘at the expense of these marginalised groups’.

‘Targeted hate disguised as humour is inexcusable and I hope they can stop making excuses, make a genuine apology with actionable points about how they will do better, and rethink their business model,’ she said.

‘In the wake of such important movements such as Black Lives Matter, Stop Asian Hate and Reclaim The Streets/Night – having a business make insensitive jokes on their on-street signage and social media profiles is really disconcerting…

‘I get that that businesses want to brand themselves to ‘stand out’, but doing so like this, at the expense of others like this shows that they’re narrow minded, racist, sexist, ableist, and fatphobic’.

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