Bands cancel shows and employees quit WA state bar over its 'catch the virus' promotion

A bar in Washington state saw their employees quit and bands cancel their gigs over a "catch the virus" promotion that included a discount for people who had proof they tested positive for the coronavirus.

A Facebook post from the Vessel Taphouse in Lynnwood described the promotion on Jan. 21.

“Come see the show, maybe catch the virus, or just stay home and whine,” read the post. “Tickets 10 bucks or 6 with proof of omicron positive test. Have you had enough???”

The promotion led to four employees quitting and three bands canceling shows at the bar.

Brad Skurlock, the manager of the bar, told KIRO-TV that the promotion was a joke and the employee responsible for the post had been fired. They also deleted the promotion from their social media accounts.

“We were getting comments that we were trying to infect the public,” said bar owner Steve Hartley to The Daily Herald. “Clearly we have no interest in that. People aren’t going to come and drink if they get sick, and we know that.”

Johnny Angel, a singer with the Seattle-based band "Atrocity Girl," said they were "appalled" when they saw the post from the bar.

“I was really, really disappointed that anybody could ever really make a post like that," she added.

"Even if the post was meant as a joke, it's not funny." said Angie Dane, the drummer of the band.

Bret Allen of "Bret Allen and The Northern Rebels" disagreed and said that everything was being blown out of proportion.

"They're costing servers their tip money, they're costing a business owner his business, when he didn't do anything wrong," Allen said.

Some patrons said that they felt completely safe and that it was clear that the promotion was just a joke.

Here's more about the bizarre promotion:

Lynnwood bar advertised ‘catch the virus’ show | FOX 13 Seattlewww.youtube.com