Dunkin' pulls Ray ad over headscarf

Published: May 28, 2008 at 3:15 PM
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Television personality Rachael Ray on February 20, 2007 in New York City.  (UPI Photo/Monika Graff)
Television personality Rachael Ray on February 20, 2007 in New York City. (UPI Photo/Monika Graff) | Enlarge Enlarge
CANTON, Mass., May 28 (UPI) -- Dunkin' Donuts, based in Canton, Mass., has pulled an advertisement after a scarf worn by pitch woman Rachael Ray was compared to a Muslim headscarf.

Michelle Malkin, a conservative commentator for Fox News, said in her syndicated column that the paisley scarf worn by Ray in the ad resembles a traditional keffiyeh headscarf worn by Muslim men, WCVB-TV, Boston, reported Wednesday.

"The keffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad," Malkin wrote. "Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant and not-so-ignorant fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons."

Dunkin' Donuts said the resemblance between Ray's scarf and a keffiyeh was unintentional.

"Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we are no longer using the commercial," the company said in a statement.


© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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