Royal Cocaine Club T-shirts sold by Adelaide barber slammed by Croquet Club founder
THE founder of the Royal Croquet Club has lashed an Adelaide barber shop selling T-shirts with the provocative slogan ‘Royal Cocaine Club’, describing the items as “idiotic, pointless and ridiculous”.
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THE founder of Fringe venue Royal Croquet Club has taken aim at the owner of an Adelaide barber shop selling T-shirts with the provocative slogan “Royal Cocaine Club”, describing the items as “idiotic, pointless and ridiculous”.
The shirts are available in King William Rd men’s-only barber, Robbie’s Chop Shop, and feature a logo similar to one used by RCC, along with an image of infamous Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
The RCC’s Stuart Duckworth said the shirts were offensive and has declared anyone wearing one will be banned from entering any of his venues, which also includes Grenfell St bar Superfish.
“As a South Australian business owner, I think it’s a ridiculous, idiotic thing to put on a top,” he said.
“I definitely don’t find it funny. I don’t know the guys, but I know they’re discriminatory to females in their shop ... and they’ve decided that story has played out and therefore they’re looking for something else to cause some controversy.”
Mr Duckworth said the obvious “connotations and connections” regarding drug use were “frustrating”, but were not representative of the RCC in any way.
“We operate in a realm which is completely legal and therefore removed from anything like that,” he said.
“The positive to take away from it is it’s going to help our security work out who the undesirables are, because anyone who’s decided to wear that T-shirt is someone we never want to let into our venue or have anything to do with.”
Mr Duckworth said he was unlikely to take any legal action against the business.
“I wouldn’t want to validate those sorts of people by even giving them my time of day ... it’s such an idiotic, stupid, meaningless gesture that doesn’t deserve to be considered any further,” he said.
Robbie’s Chop Shop is no stranger to controversy. Staff at the barbershop were accused of heckling and cat-calling Real Housewives Of Melbourne star Gamble Breaux in November.
Ms Breaux was shooting a video encouraging people to attend an Adelaide charity event when the incident occurred. She later branded the shop’s staff “misogynistic idiots”.
Business owner Robert Ferrante denied her claims at the time and described the incident as a “misunderstanding”.
Mr Ferrante declined to comment to The Advertiser yesterday.