"How awful and ridiculous": Rick's Repair Shop Tallahassee homophobic sign controversy explained as business garners backlash

By Srishti Marwah

Modified May 30, 2023 06:52 GMT

Social media users slam a Florida shop for putting out a homophobic sign outside their shop: Reactions explored. (Image via Rick — Social media users slam a Florida shop for putting out a homophobic sign outside its shop (Image via Rick's Repair Shop)

Rick's Repair Shop, an automobile shop in Tallahassee, Florida, has captured the attention of many after a homophobic sign board outside its shop went viral on social media. The problematic signboard outside the auto repair shop, which is located on US Highway 90, reads as:

“Veterans get a day f*gs, and child molesters get a month why."

The signboard talks about Pride Month, which is celebrated annually in the month of June.

Social media users slam a Florida shop for putting out a homophobic sign outside their shop: Reactions explored. (Image via Twitter)

Several social media users took to various platforms to criticize the homophobic sign as soon as its pictures went viral, with some even calling it “awful” and “ridiculous.”

“It is an embarrassment”: Social media users slam Rick's Repair Shop for its insensitive sign board targetting Pride Month

In a stark display of prejudice and insensitivity, Rick's Repair Shop in Tallahassee, Florida, has found itself at the centre of a firestorm of criticism. The recent incident of putting up the homophobic board has not only drawn attention to the shop's discriminatory stance but has also reignited the ongoing struggle for equality and acceptance ahead of Pride Month.

As news of the offensive sign spread like wildfire, social media users wasted no time expressing their outrage. Check out some of these reactions below:

Social media users slam a Florida shop for putting out a homophobic sign outside their shop (Image via @JaxPeel/Twitter)

Social media users slam a Florida shop for putting out a homophobic sign outside their shop (Image via @MikeAnissimov2/Twitter)

Social media users slam a Florida shop for putting out a homophobic sign outside their shop (Image via @HalLawton1/Twitter)

Social media users slam Rick's Repair Shop for putting out a homophobic sign outside their shop (Image via @pjxm55/Twitter)

Social media influencer @TizzyEnt took to Twitter and shed some more light on the controversy. He accused Rick’s Repair Shop and stated that the shop assumed that veterans are just celebrated for a day, whereas they had put up the signboard in the month of May, which is celebrated as the "Military Appreciation Month.”

At the same time, he also showed some reviews of the auto repair shop and said:

“Honestly, calling them or giving them bad reviews, I don’t know what good it’s going to do. Can they really do much worse? They already have a ton of one-star reviews, having nothing to do with this incident.”

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Several people then commented below TizzyEnt’s post and lashed out at Rick's Repair Shop for using disturbing words against the LGBTQ+ community:

Social media users slam Rick's Repair Shop for putting out a homophobic sign outside their shop: Reactions explored. (Image via Twitter)

At the moment, nobody from Rick's Repair Shop has spoken out regarding the problematic signboard. However, as per a few social media users, the shop's addresses and reviews from Google have vanished, which has made several speculate if the search engine took action against them or if it was them who removed their details as a result of the backlash.

Meanwhile, it is yet not known if the homophobic signboard still exists outside the shop in Tallahassee, Florida.

Edited by Abhipsa Choudhury