Whole Foods Removes Obama Chicken Ad After Complaints

An advertisement for organic chicken using a Barack Obama look-alike has been removed from a Whole Foods’ store.

A sign in front of the grocery chain’s store in Manhattan had a picture that looked like the president, some customers felt, and the store took it down after complaints, NBC New York reports.

A spokesman for Whole Foods, which is known for selling organic and locally produced foods, said “there was no disrespect meant at all” and that artists for the store often use pop culture images for advertising.

Woody Henderson, who lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, was offended and called the news station about the incident.

“There are certain things that have been used to put down black people,” he said.

While some agreed with Henderson, other neighbors thought that even though the man in the advertisement looked like the president, it wasn’t offensive.

In January, Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey called Obama’s healthcare law “fascism” while promoting his new book on NPR. Shortly afterward he apologized for the comment, saying it was “a bad choice of words on my part.”