September 28th, 2011
08:30 PM ET

Ice cream cone or Ku Klux Klan member?

A Florida shop had to scrap its ice cream cone mascot because passers-by thought it looked like a man dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit.

"We were just trying to get people to come in," store employee Jasmine Gonzalez told CNN affiliate WTSP. "We thought it was something fun for people, but eventually people took it the wrong way."

The Ice Cream Family Corner and Sandwiches shop opened a few months ago in Ocala. The owners hired a man to stand outside the shop dressed in a vanilla  ice cream cone costume to attract business.

At first store owners told WTSP they had no idea the outfit was upsetting passers-by,  but then they noticed a drop in business, and began to wonder what was impacting their sales.

Eventually, Gonzalez said they were tipped off that people were avoiding the shop, because they thought the peaked cap was not an ice cream cone costume, but a KKK robe. The mascot was immediately pulled off the street.

Some customers told WTSP they could understand the confusion, while others laughed at the ordeal.

"They (KKK members) don't color themselves (with sprinkles) like that," Wayne Austin chuckled to WTSP as he looked at the costume.

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Filed under: Florida • U.S.
soundoff (222 Responses)
  1. Nunya

    I guess the CONE part of the Ice Cream Cone wasn't obvious enough.

    September 28, 2011 at 9:51 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Taco

    This just shows how screwed up this country is!

    September 28, 2011 at 9:54 pm | Report abuse |
  3. jme

    floriDUH cant tell a come when they see it? morons

    September 28, 2011 at 10:01 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Becky

    Really? People can be so dumb and oversensitive!

    September 28, 2011 at 10:02 pm | Report abuse |
    • Jehuty

      Welcome to the USA.

      September 28, 2011 at 10:27 pm | Report abuse |
  5. s kel

    That is the most stupid thing I read.

    September 28, 2011 at 10:02 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Mac

    That is just straight ignorant! I am black, and even though the thought "may" enter your head, it is CLEARLY an ice cream cone.

    September 28, 2011 at 10:03 pm | Report abuse |
  7. moe smith

    you've got to be mother fncking kidding me... bunch of jacktards. besides wastes of oxygen, who confuses an icecream cone with a garbed Klan. oh wait! no one.

    September 28, 2011 at 10:04 pm | Report abuse |
  8. RealNews

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC19fEqR5bA&w=640&h=390]

    September 28, 2011 at 10:07 pm | Report abuse |
    • Natalie

      No one is forcing you to read this article. Sometimes people like to read funny, silly and/or stupid stories.

      September 28, 2011 at 10:47 pm | Report abuse |
  9. fuhk you all

    i hope they all go to hell

    September 28, 2011 at 10:08 pm | Report abuse |
    • Now I know

      Amen....

      September 28, 2011 at 10:14 pm | Report abuse |
  10. fuhk you all

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCk6qMKdAXk&w=640&h=390]

    September 28, 2011 at 10:09 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Moronmor Gadfly

    Chocolate lovers beware the Klu Kreme Kone! He'll scoop you up and tar and feather you with fudge and candy sprinkles lickety-split!

    September 28, 2011 at 10:11 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Junker

    This reminds me of the time I stumbled into a KKK meeting looking for an ice cream cone.

    September 28, 2011 at 10:11 pm | Report abuse |
  13. S1N

    If people think that an ice cream cone looks like a KKK costume, I'd hate to find out what they think of all the people that dress up as ghosts for Halloween.

    September 28, 2011 at 10:12 pm | Report abuse |
  14. kyle

    lol

    September 28, 2011 at 10:12 pm | Report abuse |
  15. Dave

    Oh God, People see what they want to see. GROW UP. How many KKK members have cone designed sheets with sprinkles?

    September 28, 2011 at 10:12 pm | Report abuse |
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