Keith McNally may want to delete his Instagram account.
The famed restaurateur went on an epic rant Thursday about losing a “big chunk” of business — and being threatened with having his head cut off — after getting called out for a tone-deaf post about Hamas’ deadly attacks on Israel.
McNally, 72, cast himself as the victim, invoking Nazi Germany, and said “lies” being spread about him have led to calls to boycott his restaurant empire, which includes New York City mainstays Balthazar, Pastis, and Minetta Tavern.
“This is not Germany in 1938. Persecuting someone unjustly is a form of terrorism. Have you no sense of decency, America?” he railed on his Instagram account, which has 114,000 followers.
The tempest began Monday when McNally drew scorn with a photo of Hamas rockets fired over the weekend at Israel with the caption, “The more Utterly Repugnant the facts, the Greater the responsibility to Listen to the other side.”
He deleted the post the following day and offered an apology.
“I have never once in my life recognized nor supported Hamas,” he wrote. “It is a terrorist organization comprising of murderers and thugs.”
“Like most people, all I want is peace in the Middle East,” he added.
But McNally apparently remained on a low boil until Thursday — when the steamed Brit blew his top and doubled down on his initial comment.
“Listen to the Other Side is a reference to the Palestinians. I didn’t say praise. I didn’t say support. I said…Listen,” he hissed in the caption of his Instagram post, which featured a screenshot of a call to boycott Pastis.
“For saying Listen, I’ve received 4000 hate messages. For saying Listen, I’ve been called a Hamas lover, a Jew hater and a hater of mankind. For saying Listen, lies have been spread about me on Social Media causing my restaurants to lose a big chunk of their business. For saying Listen I received a message from somebody on Tuesday threatening to Cut my Head Off.”
Follow along with noti.group’s coverage of Israel’s war with Hamas
McNally’s diatribe only served to reignite anger as nerves remain raw from the massacre of 1,200 Israelis – the most Jews killed in a single day since the Holocaust.
“Keith, ironic that you should ask if it’s 1938 because to the 1200 Jews that were senselessly murdered this week, I would say yes. But instead of acknowledging the horror that has happened in Israel from women being raped, babies being beheaded, and innocent civilians being killed and kidnapped, you have chosen to make this about you, your social media presence, and your restaurants’ revenue. Please wait a moment while I take out my tiny violin for you. YOU should listen for a moment and think about that,” responded branding expert Aliza Licht.
Others pointed out McNally was entitled to say what he wanted but that free speech works both ways.
“Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom of consequences,” hotelier Jayma Cardoso, owner of Surf Lodge in the Hamptons, told The Post.
Added another: “That you didn’t like how people responded … highlights a continued lack of understanding.”
McNally declined comment about the latest uproar when contacted by The Post.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
