Lou Malnati's
In case you missed it, Netflix enjoyed a hit with their show, Emily In Paris. However, the show also made quite the crack about one of the most popular pizzerias in Chicago, Lou Malnati's. Not one to take a joke lying down, the restaurant quickly clapped back!
Emily In Paris' Bad Joke
Netflix, Lou Malnati's
If you didn't watch the cute Netflix show, Emily In Paris, created by Sex and the City creator Darren Star, follows the titular Emily on her adventure to discover herself in Paris. The Chicago native, portrayed by Lilly Collins, eventually adapts to the fish-out-of-water lifestyle in an eye-rolling cutesy way. It's no wonder that people have a love hate relationship with Emily! Between her Parisian missteps to her terrible pizza preferences, she can annoy audiences as much as she bewitches them.
Speaking of pizza... At one point in the show, a Parisian local tells Emily that Chicago deep-dish reminded them of "a quiche made of cement." Quickly, Emily replies, "Oh no, you must have gone to Lou Malnati's!" As you might imagine, the owners of one of Chicago's most iconic pizza spot, nor its fans, did not appreciate the jab. Especially not as the coronavirus closures threatened their business...
Lou Malnati’s Pizza Responds
Netflix, Lou Malnati's
Within days of the Emily in Paris premiering on Netflix, Marc Malnati, the co-founder and chairman of Lou Malnati's Pizzerias, responded with a statement. "We've been serving Chicago's favorite Deep Dish since 1971," he wrote. "When Netflix' Emily in Paris writers chose to take a shot at Chicagoans and our pizza to try to get a laugh, it felt heartless and not humorous in the midst of COVID-19."
Along with the statement, Malnati included some photos, one with a slice of their deep-dish pizza and the text "Hey Emily… jealous?" over it. Another shows Emily sitting at a bistro in Paris, with a slice of Lou Malnati's photoshopped over her French dish. “Emily in Paris thinks Lou’s sucks. We disagree. Try it for yourself," the photo caption reads. "Hate it? #movetoParis.”
After getting a few jabs at Netflix and Emily in Paris, Lou Malnati's extended a generous offer to everyone, even fans of the show. "Lou Malnati's will be offering a $5 discount for customers who order its pizza through the website tastesofchicago.com and use the code TCXCHISTRONG," the statement continued under the Instagram post. Meanwhile, Netflix has remained quiet on the issues. Only time will tell if they respond...
Sources: The Takeout, The Wrap
