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El Furniture Warehouse does damage control

A small firestorm has erupted surrounding El Furniture Warehouse, when a (re)post on their Instagram account mocked Caitlyn Jenner and her Vanity Fair cover. The post originated from the infamous @fuckjerry account.

The bar – featured on the cover of NOW this week – received instant flack and the post was taken down about a half hour after it was posted.

Sean Young, a partner in the business, says it’s a sensitive issue and that it wasn’t meant to be hurtful, but agrees that the post was problematic. Not surprisingly, he’s worried about how the bar is being perceived.

“If you know anything about us, you know that we have many LGBTQ staff members and a relationship with the community.”

If that sounds perilously close to a “some of my best friends” kind of sentiment, he makes a point of adding, “We’re in the process of partnering on a fundraiser for Get Real,” which is a movement of university students across Canada who speak at high schools about unlearning homophobia.

Young says he wants the El Furniture Warehouse Instagram site to continue to be cheeky, edgy and funny, but agrees that the post was in poor taste. The account has multiple contributors, he says, and it needs better oversight.

“I always look at it, of course,” he says, “but now I’m going to be the editor.”

susanc@nowtoronto.com | @susangcole

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