Ellsworth Business Target Of Slander Campaign [AUDIO]

An Ellsworth establishment was the recipient of a recent social media attack.

On the Z Morning Show, we spoke with Derrick Baker, who is the Genreal Manager of Finelli Pizzeria in Ellsworth, which was slandered on Facebook last week, with a meme insinuating that they throw old pizza into the road to attract seagulls, in order to watch them get hit by passing vehicles for their entertainment, which the post then claims is because they have no business.

Baker believes that the social media attack is in direct response to Finelli's support of the Black Lives Matter movement. He claims that this photo was staged, and that there is video evidence from security cameras from not only his restaurant, but also from the neighboring businesses security cameras as well.

Baker also states that the pizzeria was closed when the photo was taken, in order to make it look empty in the meme. In our interview he also claims that other businesses in that area have suffered harassment as well.

He followed up his original Facebook repsonse with this quote:

Hi All, like everyone else, we are running a business in the middle of a pandemic.

We've been busy and want to thank all our customers for that.

The main thing we want to address is that we are a pizzeria. We make people food, food for all people, and try to serve them well.

We believe in human rights. People in the Finelli family include people of color, law enforcement, and many other groups both who live here in Maine and are visiting us from elsewhere. We plan on continuing to serve them now and in the future.

Our country is in turmoil but under no circumstances do I think it is acceptable to be attacking a business in the way that some people have seemed to want to single us out.

If you have questions or concerns about our business practices, we welcome you to message us so we can have a dialogue. But we will not put up with slander or racism on our page. We are here to feed you and if you'd rather eat somewhere else, that's ok.

But to those of you who are supporters of small businesses, we invite you to come in and pick up some delicious food. We welcome all people who love food as much as we do, because pizza unites us, not divides us. Stay safe and we look forward to serving you soon.

You can listen to our interview with him below