LivingSocial Apologizes for Jewish-Themed ‘Greed’ Room at Halloween ‘7 Sins’ Party
Image by thinkstock
The LivingSocial website apologized for a Halloween party it sponsored in Washington following a complaint that some of the decorations were anti-Semitic.
LivingSocial, which offers discount deals at area businesses throughout the country, decorated its “greed” room with dreidels and gold coins at its “7 Deadly Sins Halloween Party” on Oct. 26.
“We have looked into it and determined that the inclusion of dreidels with the other games in the gaming room was not a smart choice, and we are very sorry to have upset anyone,” said Kevin Nolan of LivingSocial’s publicity department. “Certainly this behavior does not reflect who we are as a company.”
Nolan said the customer who complained was “offered a full refund and explained that any offense was unintended” and was given an apology.
That customer, who did not want her name used, said, “I was very offended. I just thought it was completely inappropriate.” She said she considered the room’s decorations “clearly anti-Semitic.”
For $59, guests were invited to “indulge in a silent disco, movie screening” and fun in seven different rooms. Each room’s theme revolved around the seven deadly sins: lust, pride, wrath, gluttony, envy, sloth and greed.
The greed room was described as “a shimmering room full of silver and gold” in which people “get greedy challenging friends to a plethora of games.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
