In the wake of the Super Bowl last week, several businesses have come under fire for opting not to air Bad Bunny’s halftime performance. It’s the kind of decision that rarely goes unnoticed and almost always invites backlash.
One recent example surfaced through an influencer’s video, which called out Andrew Young, the general manager of Casa Amigos in Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona. According to the post, Young chose not to broadcast the halftime show at the bar. Casa Amigos markets itself as a space inspired by Mexican culture, which made what followed all the more jarring.
On his Instagram story, Young praised Charlie Puth’s rendition of the national anthem. But he didn’t leave it there. He added a pointed remark aimed at Bad Bunny, referencing his “foreign language” in a way that quickly drew criticism online.
“How did they go from probably one of the best National Anthems of all time to a entire halftime show in a foreign language?” the Ariozna bar general manager wrote. The influencer kept exposing Young. She then showed a clip where he decided to make the DJ cut the audio of the halftime show and play “Ice Ice Baby.” Definitely not a wise choice. This song choice and his criticism of Spanish made a lot of people criticize him. “Maybe don’t center your business around a culture that you clearly resent the moment it exists outside of your control,” the influencer told him. She has got a point. The influencer then encouraged people to think twice before going to the bar. “Make sure this business runs into the [expletive] ground,” she also wrote in the caption.
The influencer later posted an update about what happened at the Arizona bar. The bar ended up posting an Instagram post following the backlash, and they said that they suspended the general manager. “We have suspended the individual indefinitely, effective immediately, and we are currently reviewing the full extent of this matter to determine a final resolution,” they wrote. Unfortunately for the business, the apology wasn’t convincing for many people since they wanted Young to be fired rather than suspended. It didn’t help that their Instagram page clearly shows that they still follow Young’s account. That doesn’t exactly scream that there will be consequences.
Since the suspension wasn’t satisfying, the influencer made sure to point out another thing that Young did, which should be taken into consideration when evaluating his employment. Allegedly, he was filmed allowing streamer Clavicular, who isn’t 21 years old, to enter the bar. In the video the influencer shared, Young told the streamer to sign the employee log and pretend to be an employee. He made several mistakes.
People Reacting to the Arizona Bar’s General Manager Being Racist
A lot of people were upset by what happened at the Ariozna bar. They also didn’t like that Young was just suspended. This is why one person wrote, “Cancel this bar still. They didn’t apologize once. They didn’t say it doesn’t reflect their values. All they said was that it was against their operating procedures. He felt comfortable doing it because they share the same values.” This made another person reply, “One thousand percent. He knew he would be safe when he did what he did. That’s why he did it.” Someone else agreed and said, “Exactly‼ They put out that notice to try and pacify people with no intention of stopping any of their bad behavior‼ Racists have been activated all across the country but I look forward to the day when we legally start holding them accountable with some real and tangible consequences‼”
The backlash didn’t stop at social media criticism. Several commenters said they would no longer support the Arizona bar. “I am a latino that goes regularly to casa amigos!. Thank you for reporting it. My business is no longer attending the location,” one person wrote in response to the influencer’s video.
Others urged a broader boycott, pointing beyond just one manager. “Everyone, please note that while their PR statement says he’s suspended indefinitely that does not mean he’s fired. Companies do this but really relocate the person to another branch. Also, the owning company EER are still not friendly people, they only use Hispanic culture as a theme for their bar, they are not supportive of the people or the culture, nor do they actually care about anything other than the money. So please, do not go to their bars, do not support them financially in any way. Thank you!,” another commenter wrote, encouraging people to avoid any establishments tied to the same ownership group.
