A restaurant in Washington, D.C., found itself backpedaling and apologizing Monday after serving up a "Pill Cosby" cocktail it initially claimed was meant to raise awareness of drugging in bars.
Diet Starts Monday, a new restaurant in D.C.'s 14th/U Street Corridor, recently debuted the tequila-based drink with empty pill capsules floating at the surface, the Washingtonian reported Monday. The restaurant's cocktail menu includes various African American celebrity-themed drinks.
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Philadelphia native Bill Cosby, 79, stands accused of drugging and molesting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on $1 million bail as jury selection for the upcoming trial began Monday. A civil suit with Constand was settled for an undisclosed sum in 2006.
At least 60 women have come forward with allegations Cosby sexually assaulted or harassed them to varying degrees since his rise to international fame began in the 1970's. The jury in Cosby's trial will be permitted to hear his decade-old deposition testimony about obtaining quaalude prescriptions to sedate women and lure them into sexually compromising situations.
Twitter users reacted with horror Monday as Diet Starts Monday's drink began trending.
By Monday afternoon, the restaurant tweeted an apology and confirmed the drink would no longer be offered.
Earlier this year, another Washington, D.C., restaurant came under fire over a Cosby mural that remained on its exterior wall despite the looming criminal trial and local disapproval. The mural eventually was taken down. Internet jokes about Bill Cosby's alleged predatory behavior have backfired in a similar fashion, while institutions with ties to the former comedian have moved to strike their associations.