California-based Arrogant Brewing received heavy criticism for the sexually suggestive tweet from its Twitter account, @arrogantbastard, which said "only 'wussies' do the 'ask permission' part".
Hi @StoneBrewing @StoneGreg - I know your @ArrogantBastard branding is supposed to be cheeky/mean/macho, but I am dissapointed and troubled to see this type of joking about consent. pic.twitter.com/GuqXYvpA3r
— Carla Jean Lauter (@beerbabe) February 28, 2018
The company initially responded by saying the tweet was misinterpreted, but this received criticism for seeming insincere.
That's not an apology. You are saying people misread your tweet, not that you f*cked up by posting and defending that tweet. Try again.
— sean behan (@seanbeh3) February 28, 2018
On Friday, a further tweet contained a longer statement from its executive chairman and co-founder.
Greg Koch said he does not condone "sexual violence or misogyny in any way" and promised to "do much better". He also apologised for the "poor judgement that enabled the tweet to come off as mocking a subject with very real and serious consequences".
In what could be seen as a radical move to stop the problem reoccurring, Koch stated: "For the foreseeable future, a female member of the company will be handling all tweets from @arrogantbastard. Effective immediately."
A message from Executive Chairman & co-founder Greg Koch: pic.twitter.com/L4LTKuFZl2
— Arrogant Bastard (@ArrogantBastard) March 2, 2018
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