Rock ‘n’ Bowl Owner Faces Backlash for Halloween Post Featuring Paul Pelosi Costume | Eater New Orleans

"I noticed that owner John Blancher posted (and later deleted) a photo from his personal Facebook showing a customer holding a hammer and wearing a bloody T-shirt that read, "Where's Nancy?", captioned "First entry for best costume tonight" — a reference to the violent attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband. The image was quickly picked up on social media (including the Instagram account Homegrown Terrorists) and by local TV station WWL; Blancher told WWL that "No one is in favor of the attack on Paul Pelosi" and argued that offensive costumes have long been part of Halloween and Mardi Gras and should not be interpreted any other way. Open for more than 30 years on South Carrollton Avenue, Rock 'n' Bowl (by proxy of its owner) has a reputation for supporting right-wing views and political actions: in 2018 the venue hosted a fundraiser for the Monumental Task Committee, which campaigned to re-erect Confederate monuments in Orleans Parish; Blancher spoke out against the city's COVID-19 policies early in the pandemic and in 2021 filmed an odd video monologuing that New Orleans was worse for residents and businesses during the pandemic than after Hurricane Katrina; another recent Facebook post mocked trans and non-binary people. New comment threads now admonish the since-deleted image, and Blancher has not addressed the backlash on his account or Rock 'n' Bowl’s social pages, though Rock 'n' Bowl has posted a photo of Blancher dressed as Hugh Hefner with women dressed as Playboy bunnies and disabled Instagram comments." - Clair Lorell