Adelaide food blogger Karylle Banez’s bad taste coronavirus sledge
A disgruntled Adelaide food blogger’s coronavirus joke has backfired on social media, with widespread criticism from followers who have accused her of being “incredibly offensive, insensitive and disrespectful” to people with the disease. She has since removed it.
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A disgruntled Adelaide food blogger’s now-deleted coronavirus joke has backfired on social media, with widespread criticism from followers who have accused her of being “incredibly offensive, insensitive and disrespectful” to people with the disease.
Karylle Banez, a popular food influencer with more than 60,0000 Instagram followers, posted a photo of herself yesterday at Adelaide wine bar Leigh Street Wine Room with the caption: “If I had the corona virus I know exactly who I be sneezing on (@the rude waitress here).”
It’s understood the caption was in reference to her experience at the venue earlier in the day, in which she said she was made to feel “uncomfortable and unwelcome”.
But several of her followers have described her attempt at humour as “beyond rude and disrespectful to those who have the virus and those who have died”, with many urging Ms Banez to delete or edit her post.
She deleted it on Tuesday evening.
“@karylle Are you serious? Your comment is incredibly offensive. It’s you, not her, who’s being rude here. Disgusting. And definitely not funny, nor witty, nor whatever else you intended it to be,” wrote one follower.
Another added: “So close minded, people are dying of this disease and you COULD have used your platform to held (sic) awareness and love but instead you chose to do the opposite of that.”
Venue co-owner Leigh Street Wine Room Sali Sasi said she reached out to Ms Banez to personally apologise for her experience and politely ask her to alter the caption as it was “not actually funny but insensitive and irresponsible”.
But Ms Sasi, who runs the venue with her husband and head chef Nathan Sasi, said Ms Banez has so far refused to do so, even adding a new Instagram post saying: “Love getting trolled by people who don’t know me.”
“I think if anyone has an experience they didn’t enjoy they should do the right thing by addressing the business directly first and foremost not attempting to publicly shame them. So much more can be achieved by direct communication about a situation,” said Ms Sasi, who said her waitress claims Ms Banez was upset the bar didn’t have any moscato wine.
“This however is beyond her posting about an eye roll from a waitress. This is not only poor taste but incredibly insensitive and down right dangerous to be joking about the virus. In a time when the government is trying to increase diligence on how to not spread the disease she’s joking about coughing and spreading it. Not cool.”
More than 170,000 people worldwide have been infected with coronavirus, including more than 350 in Australia and at least 30 in SA. The death toll has now topped 6500 people.
It’s not the first time food blogger Ms Banez has courted controversy on social media.
In May last year Magill Rd eatery Fine & Fettle re-posted an image of Ms Banez wearing a racy bralette with several of their dishes on their Facebook page.
Their attempt to publicise their menu fell flat with many of their followers who said a “half-naked person” was not the right way to advertise their venue.
