Overview

Aaron Schlossberg's Manhattan Deli Rant refers to a viral video of Manhattan-based lawyer Aaron Schlossberg angrily confronting Spanish speakers at a deli store in midtown Manhattan in mid-May 2018.

Background

On May 15th, 2018, Facebook user Edward Suazo uploaded footage of a man confronting staff at a deli in midtown Manhattan for speaking Spanish to various customers (shown below). Within 24 hours, the video gained over 2.4 million views, 48,000 shares and 22,000 reactions.

Developments

Online Reaction

That day, the man in the video was identified as New York-based attorney Aaron Schlossberg after being retweeted by Shaun King (shown below).

Meanwhile, a video from May 2017 began circulating, in which a man resembling Schlossberg is shown clashing with protesters (shown below).

Meanwhile, posts about the incident reached the front page of the /r/PublicFreakout,^[4] /r/politics^[5] and /r/nyc^[6] subreddits. Over the next 24 hours, several articles about the controversy were published on various news sites, including Fast Company,^[1] NY Daily News^[2] and Someecards.^[3]

Mariachi Band Protest

On May 18th, a five-piece mariachi band and 500 people protested outside of Schlossberg's office.^[9] That day, Twitter^[8] user @HuntedHorse published a video of the protest with the caption "Mariachis killing it outside of Aaron Schlossberg’s building." The post (shown below) received more than 6,600 retweets and 25,000 likes in four days.

Mariachis killing it outside of Aaron Schlossberg’s building. pic.twitter.com/t5OeQaXq75

— Shay Horse (@HuntedHorse) May 18, 2018

Apology

On May 22nd, 2018, the Twitter^[7] account for Arraon Schlossberg's legal firm, @ASchlossbergLaw, tweeted an apology for the incident, claiming that he now sees how his words hurt people, that he was not a racist and supported diversity. The post received more than 50 retweets, 60 likes and 1,500 comments. He wrote:

"To the people I insulted, I apologize. Seeing myself online opened my eyes -- the manner in which I expressed myself is unacceptable and is not the person I am. I see my words and actions hurt people, and for that I am deeply sorry. While people should be able to express themselves freely, they should do so calmly and respectfully. What the video did not convey is the real me. I am not racist. One of the reasons I moved to New York is precisely because of the remarkable diversity offered in this wonderful city. I love this country and this city, in part because of immigrants and the diversity of cultures immigrants bring to this country. Again, my sincerest apologies to anyone and everyone I hurt. Thank you."

However, despite his apology, people online did not seem to accept his words of remorse, with many commenting that they did not believe him. Twitter^[10] user @dpalm66 tweeted (shown below, left), "Racist regrets racisting in public and being outed as a racist so now he's trying to put the racist horse back in the burned down racist ass barn." Twitter^[11] user @AngryBlackLady tweeted (shown below, center), "I am not racist.' Thanks for clearing that up, pal. We were really worried." Twitter^[12] user @SteveAltes tweeted (shown below, right), "Not buying it, Aaron. Eat a bee."

Search Interest

External References