Auckland café's Valentine's Day blackboard message called offensive toward women

February 14, 2019

Critics say it promotes violence against women, while others dismissed it as just a bit of fun.

A sign aimed at celebrating Valentine's Day on an Auckland café sandwich board has caused a fuss after some believe it promoted violence towards women.

The sign outside Dominion Road's Eifell en Eden read: "On Valentine's Day, open the car door for her. After Valentine's Day, open the car boot for her."

Sarah Trotman saw the sign posted on Twitter and visited the premises to ask the owner to take it down as she thinks it brought up images of a murdered woman being placed into the boot of a man's car.

"He pretty much said to me that he had freedom of speech and that he wanted me to leave his café because I wasn't a customer," Ms Trotman told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp.

Eifell en Eden owner Henry Gough says the message was a joke that referenced groceries being put into the boot of a car when normal service resumed after Valentine's Day.

"We are joking about the guy, on Valentine's Day, then after Valentine's Day, it's all your groceries," Mr Gough said.

He called it a "genuine misunderstanding" and the sign remained outside the café today minus the word boot which had been rubbed out by Ms Trotman.

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