ONALASKA, Wis. — Online outrage at a podcast from the Onalaska restaurant Angelina’s has been feeding on itself for a week and growing. A protest is being organized for Saturday at 4 p.m. outside Angelini’s. It’s at 4 that Angelini’s opens. Nobody knows the scale the protest will take, but the male sexism of Angelini managers in the podcast has gone viral. It’s drawn 58,000 views so far. Restaurant owner Tony Angelini hasn’t returned news media inquiries about how he’s dealing with the escalating anger or whether he’s asked police to control the situation if it becomes unruly. Angelini suggested in the podcast that he realized he was hitting nerve:
“I don’t give a fuck if you want to call me sexist. I don’t give a fuck if I’m prejudiced. What I give a fuck about is making sure that my customers get great service.”
The video runs 10 minutes with Angelini in a sit-down roundtable chat with his three managers. One manager, Matt Johnsn, professed not being sexist: “It’s not like a sexist thing. It’s just something you prefer.” Uhh? The podcast was the 23rd in a series that generally focuses on menu fare and cocktails. The new episode contentiously roamed afield. The title: “At Angelini’s They Prefer Male Server”
Earlier: Readers riled by ristorante’s sexist talk