Massachusetts McDonald's apologizes after displaying 'insensitive' Halloween decoration
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A McDonald’s in Massachusetts was forced to apologize this week after several customers took offense to the “insensitive” Halloween decorations displayed below a cash register.
Erik Pocock was ordering food at the McDonald’s in North Andover Tuesday when he noticed a number of festive decorations below the counter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It looked like a typical Halloween decoration. It said ‘Happy Halloween.’ It had some spiderwebs and some spiders and, like, a haunted tree and I was like: ‘Oh, that’s cute,’” he told WCVB.
“Then, you look closer and that’s not cute. That’s not right.”
Pocock was referencing the decal which appeared to show a person hanging from a tree. He said it looked “more like a lynching.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Other customers were upset over the image.
One woman told WHDH that the decoration goes against what the franchise is about.
“McDonald’s represents Ronald McDonald, helping children,” she said. “Across the street from a high school, it’s just wrong.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Something so insensitive like this, they need to take it down,” Pocock said. “They should have thought twice about putting it up.”
The restaurant's owner and operator Chuck Lietz issued a statement to local stations apologizing for the image.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“We deeply regret that these decorations were on display, and as soon as we identified the inappropriate content, we immediately removed the decorations display,” he said.
“Creating an environment that is welcoming and inclusive to all our guests and employees is critically important to us, and we apologize for any unintended offense they may have had on our community.”