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Published Sep. 23, 2020
Updated Sep. 23, 2020, 12:05 p.m. ET
Palmetto Cheese, a regional pimento cheese brand based in South Carolina, is getting grilled by shoppers and social media alike after publicly comparing the Black Lives Matter movement to a “terrorist organization.”
Now, Costco is pulling the popular cheese spread from its stores’ shelves, USA Today reports.
Palmetto Cheese founder Brian Henry, who also happens to be mayor of Pawleys Island, spurred outrage last month when he took a controversial stand against BLM.
“I am sickened by the senseless killings in Georgetown,” he wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post on Aug. 25, following the death of Charles Nicholas Wall and Wall’s stepdaughter, Laura Anderson, on Aug. 24. The pair were gunned down after being involved in a car accident on Georgetown county Highway 521. “2 innocent people murdered. Not 2 thugs or people wanted on multiple warrants. 2 white people defenselessly gunned down by a black man.”
Henry took aim at anti-racism activists, lumping them all in with looters.
“So why do we stand by and allow BLM to lawlessly destroy great American cities and threaten their citizens on a daily basis?” wrote Henry. “Should they have a carte blanche license to pillage and destroy? Why? This has gone on too long. Rise up America. This BLM and Antifa movement must be treated like the terror organizations that they are. Law and order, protection of liberty, and the right of peaceful enjoyment. If we don’t have that, we no longer have a country. My wife cried last night when she read about these murders. I’m sure their family is devastated. This did not have to happen. Does the senseless murder of these people not matter as much because it doesn’t fit the media narrative. You are damn right their lives matter. And we should all be outraged and engaged to demand action and stem the tide of lawless fringe. We can’t stay silent anymore. All lives matter. There I said it. So am I racist now? I think not. How about the POS who just gunned down 3 defenseless white people? You be the judge.”
“We need Law and Order. Now!” Henry concluded.
Costco has yet to make an official statement, according to USA Today. Henry was also unavailable.
However, the disgraced mayor claimed last week that Costco is not necessarily a consistent buyer, he told Charleston’s Post and Courier, and he expects to be picked up by the brand again in the future.
“They will occasionally add and drop products as a matter of normal business,” Henry told the paper. “We remain optimistic that Palmetto Cheese will be back on the shelves in the not too distant future.”
Henry has since apologized, the Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported earlier this month, admitting his comments were “hurtful and insensitive.” He also urged former fans to consider his “hundreds” of employees whose jobs are on the line.
“There is a concerted effort to boycott Palmetto cheese,” Henry said. “Please consider the hundreds of South Carolina jobs that depend on its success. We humbly ask for your support.”
On its website, Palmetto Cheese claims it is taking steps to “embrace change” — first, by removing the likeness of Vertrella Brown, a black woman and “friend” of the Henry family who helped popularize the dish throughout the Lowcountry region of South Carolina.
“We understand action is necessary to embrace change within our organization and we are committed to making an impact internally and within the community,” its statement reads.
