A Subway restaurant in Georgia has come under heavy criticism for displaying a roadside sign that joked about the June 18 Titan disaster that killed five people.
Rincon’s sub shop afterwards had to change a sign that read “Our subs don’t implode”. photos of the restaurant began spreading across the internet, sparking backlash and complaints.
“We have been in contact with the franchise regarding this matter and have made it clear that comments like this have no place in our business,” a Subway spokesperson said in a statement to multiple outlets. “The sign has since been removed.”
Many social media users found the restaurant’s sign insensitive, as five people died in the underwater high-pressure implosion, including a father and his teenage son.
“Too early! I am absolutely NOT laughing at this,” one person tweeted.
“That’s disrespectful as fuck!” said one Facebook user. “I bet if that was their family, they (wouldn’t think) it’s that funny.”
“I’d like to hear something @Subway says about this… IMO, it’s terrible taste for a chain trying to reinvent itself,” argued a Twitter user.
“Trying to make money off the suffering of others is always a bad idea,” says another admonished.
However, not everyone reacted disapprovingly.
“I actually feel like eating subway. Great sense of humour! Give that drawing boy a raise! a person joked.
“I chuckled too. It’s actually smart,” wrote a Reddit user. “Humour, by its very nature, always offends someone. We need to get lighter.’
The people on OceanGate Expeditions’ Titan submarine died when the ship imploded thousands of feet underwater, on a trip to view the Titanic wreck in the North Atlantic.
After the submarine lost contact with the surface, the fate of the vessel and the people aboard remained a mystery for days.
This has been announced by the US Coast Guard the deaths of all five people on June 22 after fragments of the submarine were discovered.
OceanGate has since announced that it will suspend all exploration. The company’s CEO, Stockton Rush, was among those killed aboard the Titan.
Subway did not immediately respond to JS’s request for comment.