Bagels are synonymous with New York City, and there's nothing like a good, toasted bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. But for one Big Apple bagel shop, a toasted bagel has caused it problems after an "influencer" said it was "blackface."
NYC bagel shop forced to remove cartoon mascot after influencer calls it 'blackface' https://t.co/FYS8S0aY9o pic.twitter.com/lVBGYYUpl3
— New York Post (@nypost) October 19, 2026
Bo’s Bagels on West 116th Street displayed a larger-than-life cutout of a sunglasses-wearing bagel to advertise the spot’s fresh goods – until threats and harassment from the viral video forced the sign off the sidewalk and into hiding, owner Andrew Martinez told The Post.
“It got completely out of hand by a bunch of people who know nothing about us. And the rage was coming in from people who just wanted to call us racist,” said Martinez, a born-and-bred New Yorker who’s lived in Harlem for nearly 20 years
The life-sized cutout — which doubled as a chalkboard sign — featured the cartoon bagel flashing golden grills that read “Harlem World” and rocking a huge golden ring emblazoned with “NYC.”
The bagel mascot was designed by Harlem-based artist Tom Sanford, whose work includes life-sized caricatures of the New York Knicks that were displayed in City Hall in June during the team’s championship-winning run.
The backlash to the bagel mascot began when Harlem-based photographer Carl Broady blasted the cartoon as a “disrespectful caricature of black people” in an Instagram post last Monday.
This is insane. Only an "influencer" would look at that and find racism.
Never bow to the mob.
— Brandie with a 🐝 (@BrandieWithABee) October 20, 2026
Never.
Nobody forces you to be a coward.
— Sensurround (@ShamashAran) October 19, 2026
That's a choice that you make. https://t.co/anbDR5PbpJ
The only way this stops is if normal people look at "influencers" like this and tell them "No."
What race is "bagel," anyway?
— Aldous Huxley's Ghost™ (@AF632) October 20, 2026
According to this influencer, it has a race. It's ridiculous.
If you go to the TikTok there’s this moron posted it’s even worse than you’d imagine. It’s wild how patently dumb so many people are in this world. Or just that they want to be victims. The permanently offended types are the dregs of society.
— Dave Algonquin (@DaveAlgonquin3) October 20, 2026
Victimhood is important to the Left; it gives them power and control.
You have no idea how crazy woke 2 is going to get. https://t.co/mjguENVyse
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 20, 2026
Just wait. Woke 2 is going to make Woke 1 look like a picnic in the park.
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