The owner of a well-known popcorn maker in Michigan has been forced to sell back his business following a social media firestorm over his comments that appeared to support police brutality, according to reports.
Evan Singer is “no longer affiliated with or employed” by the Detroit Popcorn Company following a since-deleted comment posted on a Facebook profile under the pseudonym Even Sangria, the Detroit Press reports.
“They wonder why they need knee’s in there necks,” the comment read.
The company’s former owner, David Farber, is now taking back the reins after selling it to Singer some 18 months ago, the newspaper reports.
“I was very disheartened and disappointed in what Mr. Singer wrote on Facebook,” Farber said in a news release. “I don’t tolerate racism in any form, ever … Mr. Singer disrespected our community, customers, and employees.”
Farber said the comment — which led to boycott calls and lost accounts — prompted him to “buy back” the company, which remains closed as a sale of the 97-year-old business is in the works.
The Detroit Zoo and Quicken Loans also ended their relationships with the firm after Singer’s post, the Free Press reports.
The company’s website bills itself as Michigan’s top provider of popcorn, as well as concession equipment and related supplies.
Farber, who originally bought the company in 2006 and revamped the business, said Singer was not in default and he is now pursuing a sale to black investors, he told the newspaper.
“It’s my name, it’s a company I built,” Farber said. “What he said, you can’t say that, ever.”
The Facebook account named “Even Sangria” was linked to Singer, the Detroit News reports.
Singer, for his part, acknowledged making the comment during an interview with WJBK.
“I said something that I shouldn’t have and I regret saying that now, but it had nothing to do with race,” Singer told the station.
Singer said his remarks were in response to video of a Target being destroyed and not connected to the May 25 of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, which sparked protests against police brutality nationwide.
“And as a business owner, it was extremely upsetting to see that,” Singer said. “My wife and family is being threatened over Facebook over a post that someone saw that had nothing to [do] what they’re even making it out to be.”