The recent fallout between FC Cincinnati and Lucius Q BBQ has intensified after the restaurant severed ties with co-owner Aaron Sharpe due to his controversial comments on the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. As reported by LOCAL12, the decision to end the partnership was influenced by Sharpe's negative remarks on social media about Kirk's recent assassination.
This spurred the local restaurant, which also operates in the city's Pendleton neighborhood and Factory 52 in Norwood, to make the decisive move to disassociate from Sharpe. Lucius Q has announced their stance to emphatically not condone Sharpe's statement and maintain their mission to bring together people with their food. "Tonight, we are announcing that Lucius Q BBQ has severed all ties with minority partner Aaron Sharpe… We are merely a locally-owned barbeque joint whose sole purpose is to use food to bring together people from every walk of life," the restaurant conveyed in a statement obtained by LOCAL12.
Further detailing the sequence of events, The Cincinnati Enquirer updated the community with the restaurant's move to part ways with Sharpe barely a day after the comments became public. Lucius Q took to their social media to express their disapproval of the remarks: "We found the comments he made on his personal social media pages offensive and, as a result, have severed ties with him," the restaurant stated.
This distancing action by Lucius Q came in the wake of Kirk's death, which occurred at a campus event in Utah and was met with a complex mix of reactions from various circles. As emphasized by WLWT, other companies connected with the restaurant seem to also be distancing themselves from Sharpe after his online comments surfaced. Acting decisively might have been a necessary step for Lucius Q to preserve their standing in the community and ensure they do not implicitly support or appear to endorse the content of Sharpe's statement.
As a consequence of Sharpe's actions, the company faced not only social backlash but also the tangible loss of its association with the soccer team, indicating how quickly corporate relationships can sour when a company's representatives engage in speech considered unacceptable by partners and the public. This incident underscores the heightened sensitivity of businesses to social media discourse and the speed at which reputational impacts can be felt.
