Misleading

The Independent’s story about Crushcakes is misleading and leaves out important information. It is fomenting anger and fear about Trump supporters.

A big part of the story was left out — the owner of Crushcakes first posted on Instagram that anyone who voted for Trump was not welcome in her restaurant and told everyone “let them eat dicks” via a cake she decorated. Her message: “If you voted for a convicted rapist, a known racist who led an insurrection and wants to take away the rights of women, LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities, then Crushcakes is not for you.” She told Trump supporters they weren’t welcome, and now she’s playing victim.

Why would your publication want to keep the Santa Barbara community divided and fearful, hating each other? Shouldn’t you use your platform to try to bring people together? This article needs to be edited or taken down.

Editor’s Note: The order of events seems to be unclear among readers. The first post said: “Hi friends, there are really no words right now so I just want to say, if you need a safe, comfortable space to be and maybe just have a cup of coffee, we got you. And we aren’t going anywhere, not at least for the next 20 years while we have this lease. So if you need a good place to be among friends, we are here. We will see what happens next but for now at least we have this. Much love always” The second post, which was deleted, said: “OK I looked at some of our comments and I guess I need to be more explicit. If you voted for a convicted rapist, a known racist who led an insurrection and wants to take away the rights of women, LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities, then Crushcakes is not for you. I hope that clears things up.”