Pub says pie name not a slur, just silly

TIPTON, England, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- A pub in Tipton refuses to quit serving a faggot pie named after British television personality Michael Barrymore, saying the name's all in good fun.

Mad O'Rourke's Pie Factory offers a 'Barrymore Pie' containing locally made faggots -- or pork meatballs -- "swimming in onion gravy," Sky News said Wednesday.

Peter Tatchell, a gay rights activist, said the "swimming in gravy" reference was an attempt to mock the death of a man in Barrymore's swimming pool six years ago.

Tatchell told Sky News, "No restaurant would ever dare use a similar racial slur on their menu. Why the double standards? Homophobic and racial slurs have got no place in a civilized society."

Pub owner Peter Towler said people wanting the pie taken off the menu needs to lighten up. He said he's received one complaint in the past six years about the pie's name -- out of about 3 million customers who have visited his shop.

"The thing with the Pie Factory is it's very unusual," he said, "and the products have all got funny names. Under no circumstances are we trying to be offensive to anyone -- it's all about having a laugh."