How's this for a NSFW TGIF? Groupon is under fire once again for offering a discount on a tour that, well, maybe it shouldn't have associated its name with.
If you thought March's Groupon-promoted Dahmer tour was stomach-churning -- which the victims' families certainly did -- well, here's another one that's not so suitable for the kiddies: Groupon's San Francisco outpost is being boycotted for offering a discount on a walking tour that includes a romp through local porn studio Kink.com.
It's the second time this year Groupon is offering the deal, and its detractors aren't letting it go by unnoticed. Since this is a family website, I can't embed the protest video associated with the boycott being instituted by the organization War On Illegal Pornography, but know this: This is stuff that will nauseate even the most curious teenager. Here's more on the boycott.
When the organization wrote Groupon to complain, Groupon responded: "We certainly didn't intend to offend anyone… Fortunately, this business has proven to be a responsible member of their community and the tour offered in this deal is historical and informational in nature."
To clarify, the tour also includes a walk through a five-floor historic armory, but that building also happens to house what Groupon describes as "elaborate adult-film sets" and "... Depending on their timing, groups may also glimpse a live filming in progress, though the staff requests that patrons refrain from ogling the working boom mikes."
Sounds perfectly upstanding.
David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as an interviewer-writer for Adult Swim, he's also a columnist for EGM. He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. When not playing video games for work he's thinking of dashing out to Chicago Diner, Pizano's, or Yummy Yummy. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.
