“The entire community is filled with negativity. Being an African American company, this is what we deal with on a regular basis. We are not the other color, which is unfortunate to you guys, because if we were the other color, I’m sure there would be a lot more respect.”
HUNTINGTON, WV (WOWK) — Months after Crisppi’s Chicken was opened in Downtown Huntington by former NFL star Randy Moss, the restaurant is facing criticism after a manager posted a series of videos across social media.
That manager, who told 13 News he would only give us his first name ‘Kurt,’ said bad reviews and comments against the restaurant are part of what he believes is discrimination from the community.
The original video posted by Kurt took Facebook users by surprise.
Kurt opened with, “Crisppi’s [is] here to give you a great vibe, great energy, great food. Randy Moss invested his time and energy, but since we’ve been here for the past few months, it’s been nothing but negativity from the community. The community not supporting.”
However, that video is catching Huntington citizens and Crisppi’s fans off guard.
Kurt continued in the video by saying, “The entire community is filled with negativity. Being an African American company, this is what we deal with on a regular basis. We are not the other color, which is unfortunate to you guys, because if we were the other color, I’m sure there would be a lot more respect.”
Following backlash from many members of the community, Kurt took a seat at the “Talk Huntington” podcast led by host David Williams, also known as ‘Alligator Jackson’ on air.
Williams said he tried to deescalate while addressing complaints surrounding Kurt’s social media comments along with complaints made by customers before the video aired, such as Crisppi’s not serving ketchup, not taking cash payments, among other things.
“It’s an issue of respect, and they felt like they weren’t getting respect. But the problem is that they disrespected people in the process of getting their respect. That’s something they hurt some feelings of people in Huntington. Understandably, there is some animosity now once you attack somebody,” Williams said.
During the live interview, Kurt said, “What did our community do? They tore us down, like they always do. The African American community, we are known to tear each other down. The Chinese is not known for it, the Europeans. Nobody else is known for it.”
Kurt continued, “This ain’t being racist when I’m talking. We talking about we need to come together, our African American community. This was the time to get on the air, and I had to say that to get the attention, then boom, well done. Now I can take my peace that we’ve been disrespected since we’ve been here within our own community, our own race.”
From this came more controversy and raised eyebrows.
In an interview on Monday, Kurt spoke to 13 News about his comments.
“Anybody that misunderstood what I said on that video, you have to think it was clear as day what I said. It was clear. It was clear that that is what African Americans have been going through for centuries. It is clear,” Kurt said.
The original video now has thousands of views, comments and shares. the question now is about rebuilding that bond with the community.
“Huntington has always been a city of second chances. Admit you did something wrong, try to fix it, give the people what they want. Give them ketchup,” Williams said.