By Marcy Nicholson
The ad, online for two weeks before Dunkin' Donuts removed
it last weekend, showed TV host Ray wearing a black and white
scarf that some critics likened to a keffiyeh, a traditional
Arab headdress.
Columnist and blogger Michelle Malkin said it was "hate
couture," after which others made similar criticisms.
"It's sad that Dunkin' Donuts pandered to that kind of
fear-mongering. They have businesses in the Middle East, in the
Arab world. It's interesting to see how that will affect
business there," said Ahmed Rehab, a spokesman for the Council
on American-Islamic Relations.
Dunkin' Donuts, which calls itself the world's largest
coffee and baked goods chain, said in a statement Ray had been
wearing a silk scarf with a "paisley design" selected by a
stylist with no intended symbolism. It pulled the ad due to the
possibility of misperception, the company said.
Ray hosts morning lifestyle show "Rachael Ray" on ABC, also
appears on the Food Network and has written recipe books.
"Our comment is no comment whatsoever," Ray's spokesman
Charlie Dougiello said when asked about the ad's removal.
(Editing by Michelle Nichols and Eric Walsh)
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