Dunkin Donuts Pulls Ad Featuring Rachael Ray In A Scarf That Looks Too Arab

Dunkin Donuts has pulled a commercial featuring pitchwoman Rachael Ray wearing a scarf because Michelle Malkin and other conservative observers thought the scarf looked too much like a keffiyeh, what Malkin describes as "the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad."

The Boston Globe reports that Dunkin Donuts caved to pressure from the conservative blogosphere — and the fear of a mass boycott — and removed the ad:

The company at first pooh-poohed the complaints, claiming the black-and-white wrap was not a keffiyeh. But the right-wing drumbeat on the blogosphere continued and by yesterday, Dunkin' Donuts decided it'd be easier just to yank the ad.

Said the suits in a 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.''

Malkin praised the decision in her column, writing,

It's refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists. Too many of them bend over backward in the direction of anti-American political correctness....

Fashion statements may seem insignificant, but when they lead to the mainstreaming of violence -- unintentionally or not -- they matter. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. In post-9/11 America, vigilance must never go out of style.

Malkin has previously lauded Dunkin Donuts for its support of immigration laws.

Below, watch Ray promote Dunkin' Donuts in a 2007 ad.

Comments

[6925thCobras]

This reminds me a little of the Joseph McCarthy era...seeing a Communist behind every bush (no pun intended)...talk about right wing wackos...Dunkin' Donuts should be ashamed of themselves for bowing to this pressure...I wonder if they were asked to give the names of other Arab sypathizers?

[SharonWantsToTalk]

Wanna know what else it reminds one of? The individuals that poured over Disney cartoons looking for subliminal messages like the supposed erection of the priest marrying Ariel and her beau in Mermaid. Michell Malkin says that the fashion people should have known of the scarf reference. Michell is not only showing how far removed that she is from mainstream life , but also how encapsulated she remains in her right wing ideologies. I guess when you live and breath Neocon bullshit it overrides any rational thought you may have. What a joke she is to me, a working class American. It just sucks that she even gets a forum to spew the Rights fear points ,let alone influence a major corporation in their marketing decisions. Dunkin Donuts should grow some corporate balls. I won't go to their stores just for this reason. Its mt protest to their caving.

[Raymondf]

A non-issue, my wife has one almost exactly like Rachel's she wears to church in the winter, and Rachel's scarf looks in no way like Arafat's

[blueinannarbor]

Yes, but we're talking about really crazy people-people who've genuinely sought and earned the description of right-wing, wack job, nutball, freakshows. These are the same ones who think that Sponge Bob Square promotes a hidden gay agenda (Apparently, it's so well hidden, it doesn't even exist!) You've really got to wonder about the spine of the Dunkin' Donuts' decision-makers who caved in to this lunatics.

[Independent007]

I blame this on the IDIOTS at Dunkin Doughnuts. EIther they have no spine, or no common sense(it clearly was a simple scarf and nothing more). Either way, I will never eat another Dunkin Doughnut again, PERIOD. I don't want to associate with a company that sides with and listens to the extreme right wing of this country.

SHAME ON YOU DUNKIN DOUGHNUTS, SHAME!!!!!!!!!!

[kravitz]

Danish electronics company Bang&Olufsen make a speaker called a Beolab 9 that looks like a woman in a burka. They're danish. Remember the cartoon kerfuffle? And no one's mad at them...

[shengirl]

Well if it's a paisley scarf, you are all wrong about coded Arab support, Paisley in in Scotland, so it's obviously a message of support for the Scottish Nationalists. And the new British PM Brown is Scottish. Hmm, are we starting to see a pattern here? Today Edinburgh, tomorrow the world! If she does a show on cooking haggis, our suspicions will be confirmed.

[Raymondf]

I hope she don't . Haggis is the nastiest stuff I ever put in my mouth.

[texastornado]

Duncin Doughnuts can scratch me off as one of their costumers. This desicion is the most childish action from a corporation. I don't have anything against Arabs, in fact I find Arab Women very attractive. They did not attack us. We attacked them for no good reason. We have destroyed their country and killed thousands of their citizens. For whatever it's worth I will never patronize Dunkin Doughnuts again.

[Fire]

Well, what are cherry blossoms doing in the commercial anyway? I thought there was supposed to be sand in the commercial if it was Arab. And oil wells, big huge oil wells.

[Oilygarch]

-& so THIS is why Drunken Dognuts decides to pull an ad? Because some nitwit mistakes a kewl paisley scarf as someone's symbol of national identity?

Also, are certain peoples supposed to deny their ethnic identity? Are all or only certain cultures supposed to become assimilated?

How ridiculous would it be to pull an Indiana Jones ad because he sports a fedora & my orthodox bro wears one as part of his traditional attire?? -Also don't think my brother gives a single thought to the notion Indiana Jones lifted such an item to make any given ''statement'' other than for kewlness.

-& even had Rachel Ray knowing wore a kaffiyeh, which she didn't, as a kewl scarf, objecting to it so feverishly somehow reminds me of flag-burning and as such, I wouldn't be surprised to see or hear expressions of outrage about such censorship.

So, lemme see, before exiting the threshold of my house, I must make sure my choice of color, fabric & pattern is not on the McCarthy list. I must also make sure that I wear a flaggy or ribbon on my lappel. I also must keep a very vigilant eye on my lapel flag for should it ever flip upside down, which is very easy, BTW... ...this is supposed to mean something like that the country the flag belongs to has been subverted or something like that. It can be enough for you to get beat up in the parking lot if walking past jocks of

[Oilygarch]

...of the Malkin persuasion.

[narcolepticjenn]

If I may rework Malkin's comments a bit: It's discouraging to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to bits of fabric and the bubbly television personalities who wear them. Too many companies bend over backward in the direction of anti-American hate-mongering and plain stupidity.

[BigBagel]

I think Malkin has a point.

#1- That's a mosque in the background behind Ray
#2- Who invented coffee? Thats right, the Arabs.
#3- Donuts are a means of making our cops fat and lazy. They're response to any terrorist incidents will be slow to say the least.
#4-Many DD franchise owners are "third world types".
#5-Ray's somewhat dark complexion may indicate Arab bloodlines.
Thank God for right thinking people like Michelle Malkin!!!

[Oilygarch]

*LOL*

[atila]

"ignorance is no longer an excuse"......i agree,we need to stop the ignorance that inflames fears, bigotry and resentments....

[BigBagel]

We can't. We're too ignorant.

[dana94591]

We outlaw scraves because you look Arab! This world is getting scary! What's next, beards and mustaches on dark skinned men??? I don't get it! How can we allow pigheaded people rule the world?

[stickaforkinit]

Uh, yeah, but it's a paisley scarf - and it looks more like something my dog chewed up than any kind of symbol. Fashion sense aside, the "anti-American political correctness" that Malkin refers to applies to Dunkin Donuts, for pulling the ad so as not to appear politically incorrect to Malkin, and to Malkin herself, who protested the use of a paisley scarf that she perceived to be politcally incorrect.

The short version: She's full of s***.

[SharonWantsToTalk]

Yeah, Michell needs a life. Whats her history? Why is she so wacked?

[Oilygarch]

Like Yeah!! What if you already look Arab from birth? Expect a lynch-mob after ya?

[GZLives]

Actually despite the fact that Bob Dylan is wearing one of these on the cover of Blond on Blond, Malkin does have a point ... the Kaffiya as much as most here don't want to admit (or don't know and seem to insist on pretending they do) does express a solidarity with the Palestinian "struggle" which of course is a favorite amongst the Left ergo which explains the reactions here at HuffPo

"The controversial kaffiyeh, also known as the hatta or the shemagh, is a cloth about 54 inches squared. Commonly seen on the heads of men in the Middle East, the kaffiyeh was historically used simply as protection from the scorching sun. Now, the checked scarves carry a much deeper meaning.

"The kaffiyeh is a visual extension of our struggle, a way to be a thorn in the silence," says Ahmad Habib, Iraqi refugee and a member of the Arab Cultural Resistance music group. "Everywhere, from the Arab world to Toronto, people dress up to paint the world with conformity and indifference. The kaffiyeh stands in the way of that."

The transition of the kaffiyeh from the Middle Eastern version of a baseball cap to a symbol of solidarity came with the occupation of Palestinian land. The kaffiyeh became a symbol of national identity for Palestinians. From the '60s on, Palestine Liberation Organization officials and members, such Yasser Arafat, wore the kaffiyeh everywhere they went.

The rest of this piece is here:
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/433754

[walsenberg]

And malkin's point is ..... what?!!! Throw the First Amendment out the window, all in the sake of being vigilant against terrorists?.... why doesn't she talk about timothy mcveigh blowing up 500 + people..., let's see he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, maybe, and now these items of clothing represent terror...

AND so what if someone chooses to wear this scarf as a fashion statement, as no statement or as a statement, who the f* cares.....

Why don't we photo shop that Debbie/Deborah Schumuler Wooler , whatever her name is, who actualy started this affair with threatening dunkindumbnuts with boycott and all her right henchmen/women (malkin one of her hand maidens) and photoshop them in with this scarf on their necks and use it as a photo for cards we send out for any occassion to remind folks what we are at risk of losing (our constitution, rights to express ourselves....), plus it will be very funny to see these two paranoid nuts wearing this scarf.... Just an idea..... :)

[Oilygarch]

Unfortunately, there's no set of flaggies or ribbons or even if I were to drape myslef entirely in the same confederate flag that is on one of the southern state's code of arms, without plastic surgery, my face and complexion looks too Arab, so if I lived in a Malkin-like neighborhood or place of work I would do so in fear of being singled out and becoming the subject of a hate-crime.

Within only the last two weeks someone's turban was literally shot off. Luckily it was only the turban and not the guy's head. In this country?? The men in his family and some in his community have switched in terror to wearing base-ball caps. Though Muslims were being targeted, this man wasn't even Muslim, he was Sikh!

I'll never forget how early after 9-11, a Native-American woman was mowed down by a red-neck with his red truck who thought the woman was Middle-Eastern. This is Sick!

Go AWAY Malkin!!!! People like you and you should take your prejudice with you somewhere else, like the inside of a volcano.

[shengirl]

Countdown showed a very attractive young blonde woman wearing a version of the same scarf. She was Sen. McCain's daughter. Tsk tsk. But I guess now it's all about symbols, not substance. Flag pins and politically correct scarves. Artistically, I think the picture is lousy anyway. What's with her plain brown top, and then the too-busy-ness of that scarf, it almost overpowers what is supposed to be the focus, the cup of coffee. The background is too busy, the black and white and heavily fringed scarf is too busy, the colors don't pop [pink, brown, black, white, blue, grey, green, way too much color], you hardly notice the coffee cup. Just get another ad agency, Dunkin', and be done with it. This one is no good. I think a high school art student could have done better.

[SharonWantsToTalk]

This is exactly why the supposed scarf meaning is lost on most Americans. In a nutshell.

[kuate]

Right Wingers are going to hear from America this Fall, but a few will be preserved to have a pattern, a design, of what not to allow in the future; a government run by Neocons.

The culture that brought Bush-Cheney to power has proved, just like communism did, that some policies are bad for the masses, and good for an governing oligarchy....Vote Blue This Fall.

Vote Blue This Fall... For the White House.
Vote Blue This Fall... For the Senate.
Vote Blue This Fall... For the House of Representatives.

[olorinstaff]

Anthropologists tell us that the Nanderthal branch of the human race died out some 70 thouosand years ago. They are wrong. Neanderthal descends are alive and well, represented by right wing fruitcakes such as Maulkin and Coulter.

[glesslib]

Just as a sidebar, Dunkin' Donuts coffee is now being carried at Wal-Mart. You might want to contact your favorite Wal-Mart, of which I have none, to let them know that they may wish to consider whether carrying this product makes it appear that they are ant-Arab.

I see that DD caving in to Michelle Malkin and her crowd has started a counter reaction of people organizing their own ban on DD products. Nice to see how being gutless ends up being an error on their part. Caving in will probably cost them more in the long run.