The organizers of Adonis have issued a statement after reportedly facing legal action for their “ill considered retort.”
London queer party Adonis elicited the ire of the Jewish community and beyond by reportedly publishing anti-Zionist rhetoric on social media. The brand has reportedly come under legal fire for doing so, prompting it to issue a statement of apology.
Last month, Jewish News reported that Adonis had written that “Zionism has no place in queer spaces” in its Instagram bio. After significant outcry, organizers amended it to say, “no genocidal maniacs plz xx.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism then wrote a letter to Eugene Wild and Stuart Glen of DL Food and Drink Limited, which owns The Cause, where Adonis is hosted. It condemns the brand’s “aggressive rhetoric,” pointing out that 80% of British Jews identify as Zionists according to one of the British NGO’s recent surveys, and arguing that the bio text “may well amount to breaches of the criminal law.”
Adonis issued a statement addressing the incident on September 14. The brand took the opportunity to “apologise for some instances of offensive language” and “formally retract a ‘No Zionists’ post that was briefly online.”
“This post was a flippant, ill considered retort to the ongoing abuse, attacks & death threats we continue to experience on social media,” reads a passage. “No such policy was ever implemented at the club.”
The statement continues: “We have & never would deny entry to anyone based on their race, ethnicity, gender or religion or any other protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010. Our Jewish attendees, friends and DJ’s continue to be valued and welcome at all events.”
As of right now, no legal action against Adonis stemming from their social media activity has been shared with the public.
