A Harlem bagel shop was forced to remove a cardboard cutout of its cartoon mascot after a viral TikTok video called it a “blackface owner.”
asserted
video → force → it
Bo’s Bagels on West 116th Street displayed a larger-than-life cutout of a sunglasses-wearing bagel to advertise the spot’s fresh goods – until threats and harassment from the viral video forced the sign off the sidewalk and into hiding, owner Andrew Martinez told The Post.
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Martinez → display → Post
“It got completely out of hand by a bunch of people who know nothing about us.
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who → get → us
And the rage was coming in from people who just wanted to call us racist,” said Martinez, a born-and-bred New Yorker who’s lived in Harlem for nearly 20 years
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who → come → years
The life-sized cutout — which doubled as a chalkboard sign — featured the cartoon bagel flashing golden grills that read “Harlem World” and rocking a huge golden ring emblazoned with “NYC.”
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that → double → NYC
The bagel mascot was designed by Harlem-based artist Tom Sanford, whose work includes life-sized caricatures of the New York Knicks that were displayed in City Hall in June during the team’s championship-winning run.
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that → design → run
The backlash to the bagel mascot began when Harlem-based photographer Carl Broady blasted the cartoon as a “disrespectful caricature of black people” in an Instagram post last Monday.
“The sign’s exaggerated features, bulging lips and teeth, and darkened skin tone […] recall the racist caricatures historically used to degrade Black people,” said Broady, who is black.
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who → begin → people
But it exploded when TikToker “Anastazia X” visited the bagel joint — and declared the sign a “blackface bagel” while decrying it as “problematic.”
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sign → explode → it
“It’s not funny,” the TikToker — who has 4,000 followers — said in a Saturday video, adding that other art in the shop “was a little askew.”
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art → ’ → shop
Anastasia X also proclaimed the shop was “white owned” while flashing a photo of Martinez, and insisted she’d been “left on read” when she sent him a message criticizing the mascot.
“It was a kind email, it was a curious email, but it got no response,” she said — explaining she confronted the store manager during her visit instead.
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she → proclaim → visit
“I asked if anyone had complained about the bagels … and had the complaint been delivered to the owner,” she said.
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she → ask → owner
But ‘No,’ nothing has been done.
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nothing → do → ?
Despite those hot and fresh takes, Harlem residents were mixed in their opinions about the cutout – with some brushing off the criticism.
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some → mix → criticism
One longtime 43-year-old resident born and raised in the historical black nabe said he couldn’t ignore the bagel’s “stereotypical imagery.”
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he → bear → imagery
“The gold chains, whatever else was on it, that’s just like a caricature they used to show back in the olden times…but this time it just happens to be on a bagel,” he said.
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he → use → bagel
Genisha Metcalf, 39, poked a hole in critics’ claims, saying it went “too far ” to call the sign “racist.”
uncertain
it → poke → sign
“That’s not blackface,” Metcalf firmly told The Post.
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Metcalf → ’ → Post
While influencer Anastazia X said she hoped a civil “public conversation” would take place over the bagel, what instead followed was the ceaseless harassment of Bo’s Bagels’ staff, according to owner Martinez.
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followed → say → Martinez
People began making phone calls threatening the business’ employees, the lifelong New Yorker claimed, while other influencers came in to make harassing videos.
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influencers → begin → videos
“They’ve reached out to my black employees and said, ‘You need to leave there because your owners hate you,’ and that’s just not true,” Martinez said.
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Martinez → reach → you
Martinez – who said he offered to respond to Anastazia’s email but was ignored – has been floored by the controversy.
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he → say → controversy
“This is actually almost weird to us because Harlemites love us.
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Harlemites → love → us
They know what we do.
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we → know → what
We donate to schools.
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We → donate → schools
We give food away to the homeless shelters,” he said.
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he → give → shelters
Anastasia X also seemed surprised by people’s reactions — telling The Post she never intended for her video to blow up as it did.
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it → seem → Post
“I’m sorry that employees and the owner have been harassed as a result of the video,” she said.
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she → ’m → video
“That was not my intention and I don’t condone or support any behavior of that kind.”
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I → condone → kind
When reached for comment, artist Tom Sanford defended the art work, saying he wanted “nothing more than to celebrate that culture.”
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he → reach → culture
“Personally, I do not see uptown streetwear culture in a negative light at all,” Sanford said in an emailed statement.
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Sanford → see → statement
“To me, these items represent overwhelmingly positive cultural contributions that came from the streets of my neighborhood and crossed over into the mainstream.”
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that → represent → mainstream
The Aporia
