Jeff Houck

The Tampa Tribune’s food writer since 2005, Jeff Houck covers the way people live through their food. He also hosts the Table Conversations food podcast and believes that everything crunchy is good.

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Yum-o La Revolución! [Rachael Ray Rocks A Scarf For Derka-Derka Donuts]

Posted May 29, 2008 by Jeff Houck

Updated May 29, 2008 at 04:45 PM

So, a Dunkin’ Donuts ad featuring Rachael Ray wearing a scarf has been pulled off the air after protests that the pattern of the scarf too closely resembled a keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by Arab man.

As the Associated Press reports:

Fox news columnist Michelle Malkin explains the garment “has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad. Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant (and not-so-ignorant) fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons.” Arab men wore the keffiyeh to protect their heads from the heat.

Dunkin’ Donuts told AP the scarf had a paisley design, and was selected by a stylist for the advertising shoot. The company eventually pulled the commercial and made the statement, “In a recent online ad, Rachael Ray is wearing a black-and-white silk scarf with a paisley design. It was selected by her stylist for the advertising shoot. . . . Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we are no longer using the commercial,” SFgate.com reported.

In February, several pictures with John McCain’s daughter Meghan wearing a similar scarf circulated in the media. Her mother, Cindy said that it “didn’t occur to her that her daughter shouldn’t be wearing that.”

Personally, I think Miss Thang could use some edge. Embrace it, I say. Turn a negative into a positive. Become a bigger icon by co-opting two brands at once:

Rachael Che, anyone?

Photo illustration for The Stew by David Williams.