The owner of East of Chicago Pizza in Barberton, Ohio has accidentally provoked disquiet this week with an 'offensive' slogan on a billboard ad. Earlier this week, Jeremy Clemetson, proprietor of East of Chicago Pizza in Barberton, Ohio, posted an image of a sign advertising his pizzeria place, which featured the caption: "Fat people are harder to kidnap." Although Clemetson has reportedly used the caption - as well as other irreverent slogans - before with no prior issues, he neglected to realize than January was Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and the post was badly received by some social media users. Take a look at this news report on the controversy:  [[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/r1f4BRUI-sKUnNGKf.mp4||r1f4BRUI]] In a later follow-up post, the owner shared a Fox News 8 segment on the sign, and wrote on Facebook: "We just set out to be funny but this billboard went national. It must [have] been a slow news day. Let me know your thoughts. I appreciate your business and never set out for this to be offensive to anyone." [[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/barbertonpizzadoneright/photos/pcb.2888769447829296/2888769247829316/]] <a style="color: #0000ff;" href="https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/pizza-place-owner-fat-people-kidnap" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">In a later interview with Fox News</a> on the subject of his controversial slogan, Clemetson stated: "I thought it would be a good idea to put up some funny signs. Most people seem to like them. I scour the internet for different signs that people have had. Sometimes I use them. Sometimes I reinvent my own. I also have got some of my funny signs from customers." [[facebookwidget||https://www.facebook.com/barbertonpizzadoneright/photos/pcb.2928882143818026/2928882097151364/]] He added: "I never even thought about it in that way, and as soon as I thought it, because kidnapping is not a joke, we are taking it down... I have seven kids of my own. I'm from the community here. I've lived here pretty much all of my life. I live in Barberton. I have strong roots here. I never even thought about it as the kidnapping aspect. I just meant it to be funny."

Pizza shop sparks furious backlash over 'funny' billboard

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