Back at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, a specific form of prank text began circulating. Those being pranked would click a link and be faced with a photo of a nude man rather than pandemic information.
Over time, the image of this well-endowed man began popping up across the internet in memes. Most recently, owners of a Pennsylvania pizzeria were surprised when it showed up in an advertisement they took out for Valentine’s Day.
In this case, the man was swirled into the foam of a cappuccino.
“I have no idea,” said Alex Chiaro, owner of Chiaro’s Pizza, when he was asked by CNN how the image ended up there. “Until someone sent us a zoomed-in picture, I didn’t see him.”
According to a report from Vice, their team tracked down the man from the memes listed under the name “Wood” on a website operated by a company named Pantheon Productions. Walter Smith, the owner of the company told outlet Wood passed away since he was photographed for the site in 2011.
Vice later identified the man as Wardy Joubert III, a San Francisco native, semi-pro football player, father of two and Baptist church deacon. His friends and family said that his image had been floating around sites such as 4Chan since at least 2012.
In a Facebook post, Chiaro’s owners said neither they nor proofreaders realized Joubert’s nude image was swirled in the foam of what they thought was a tasteful image of cappuccino.
“We are working on making sure this does not happen again,” said the post. “We at Chiaro's pride ourselves on being a family oriented pizzeria and restaurant. This is a devastating situation for all of us involved as we are sure it has been for all of you. Please accept our sincerest apologies.”
Responses to the restaurant have been supportive, with multiple posters saying that Chiaro’s is now on their “must try” list.
Related
Related
