In addition to their vegan food options, Olive Garden also has a variety of drinks to choose … “Wokeness is a problem and we all know it”. The joke was the absurdity of this reality. In highlighting these tweets, the point was made that of course, no one at Fox would suggest these figures lose their own Twitter privileges. And, watching the segment, I found it wasn’t really about Olive Garden, or pasta, at all — but a convenient way to repackage old conservative attacks on social media companies, while skirting the difficult topics of Trump’s ban from social media, the insurrection that caused it, and Fox News’s role in both. Scoring one of Olive Garden's Unlimited Lifetime Pasta Passes is truly a dream. Federal investigators are looking into Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine as potential evidence of criminal conduct. This fake statement from Olive Garden has been floating around the internet claiming the restaurant chain would be revoking Never Ending Pasta Passes for anyone who stormed the Capitol building earlier this week and Fox News anchor Sean Hannity. Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Reached for comment by Twitter DM, Mantia said, “Mostly, I’m astounded that Sean Hannity took any time to be upset about this fabricated issue. In the thread, the author of the original tweet apologised for making the post, and said the joke quickly got out of hand. This cable news dustup combined with Axe’s statement (plus, he notes, “the fact that I have very little actual work to do these days”) pushed the Portland designer to create a response to the kerfuffle from Olive Garden and post it online, as one does. The Olive Garden Pasta Pass is coming back for 9 weeks of unlimited pasta. As I explained previously, the statements are “a corporate reality that exists uncomfortably in between opportunity and obligation.” Beyond Axe, companies like Coca-Cola, Ben & Jerry’s, Chevron, and Patagonia have made statements about Wednesday’s mob action. And it makes sense, because when it’s time to talk about how a major tech company permanently suspended the account of a friend and political figure you’ve spent four years boosting “due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” the best way to go is to keep it fun, and keep everyone talking about breadsticks. CDC suspects anxiety is behind negative effects in needle-averse people. The drive to issue such statements comes from a combination of consumer expectation, brand building, and the fact that capitalism is an integral American system, practically a fourth branch of government. Although they had the examples at the ready, and certainly seem to deplore them, this messaging allows Hannity and his network to misleadingly position themselves as defenders of free speech — while also defending Trump, and conveniently redirecting focus onto Twitter, rather than the incendiary statements Trump made on the platform, or all the ways Fox News reinforced them. This morning I made a “social media statement”-style joke image as if it had come from Olive Garden, and I want to talk about why I made it and why I deleted it. On Friday, what appeared to be an official statement from Olive Garden circulated announcing that Sean Hannity had his Lifetime Pasta Pass revoked — but it wasn’t real. The unlimited Olive Garden pasta pass is on sale Thursday for $100, and some fans can buy an Olive Garden lifetime pasta pass for $500. Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism? ", Giuliani raid has Trumpworld on high alert. Until that time, your favorite dishes from Olive Garden are available to order online for both pick up and delivery. It was just the right length — long enough that you feel compelled to skip over the substance, but too short to say anything meaningful. The 2019 pass cost $100, and only 24,000 of these were available for sale and sold out almost immediately — Business Insider says that 2018's sold out in under one minute. users, post on their sites (for the most part, anyway). And it will continue to be a dream for most of us since all every single pass apparently sold out in "milliseconds." Explaining the absurdity, as Mantia did first and I am now, is indeed only more absurd. After extolling the virtues of Olive Garden’s offerings, including the hard-to-argue-about hot doughnuts, he says, “I would never want to silence anyone beating the crap out of me; they actually make me laugh some days.” And indeed, Mantia’s tweet does not seem to be the force of Hannity’s ire; it’s more a jumping-off point for the segment. By JRDN Jan 9, 2021 It's been a rough first week of the year for so many reasons but for every action, Twitter has a hilarious reaction. This year’s 23,000 unlimited pasta passes sold out , as usual, in less than a minute online. Olive Garden did not revoke the Lifetime Pasta Pass from Sean Hannity, or the Never Ending Pasta Pass from other patrons. 3:29 PM 01/11/2021 Elias Atienza | Fact Check Reporter An image shared on Facebook claims the restaurant chain Olive Garden revoked Fox News host Sean Hannity’s Lifetime Pasta Pass following the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. For Hannity, it seems, the Olive Garden tweet was a distraction, and a good one. 01/08/2021 11:57 pm ET Updated Jan 09, 2021 Sean Hannity Assures Viewers He’ll Still Be Eating At Olive Garden The Fox News host responded to a joke claiming Olive Garden yanked his pasta pass for supporting the mob that stormed the Capitol. These things actually happened. In his explanation of why he posted the image — and why he deleted it — Mantia mentioned the “absurd” need brands feel to tweet about national events, saying, “There is a very low bar for what companies and individuals feel like they need to make public statements about.” He pointed specifically to Axe addressing a can of its body spray pictured in the wreckage of Wednesday’s events. It included an action statement (canceling that “Lifetime Pasta Pass”) and a subtle reference to the coronavirus. Matt Tribe lives in Ogden, Utah. Mysterious Havana syndrome attacks are now documented in the US. Of course, this ignores the fact that, as a private platform, Twitter makes its own rules and can deplatform whoever it wants, whenever it wants. An oral history of the Dawson crying GIF and its outsized legacy. White Twitch Talk Show Host Finally Drops 'Rajj Patel' Moniker, Everything We Know About The PlayStation 5. Olive Garden wasn’t a random choice. It bolded the important words, including in-company proper nouns and slogans, had callouts for delivery, and the brand, government agency, and city the company had partnered with to catch and punish those who took part in the insurrection. No, Olive Garden did not revoke Fox News host Sean Hannity’s “lifetime pasta pass,” instead he was the victim of a hoax statement that went viral on Twitter on Friday. On the evening of January 8, as his dear friend President Donald Trump was being locked out of Twitter, Fox News host Sean Hannity ran a teaser for an unusual upcoming segment, promising to address a pressing problem about pasta. via Food&Wine Last year, 24,000 Olive Garden Unlimited Pasta Passes were sold for $100.00 apiece. To be clear, there is no reason to believe Hannity ever had Olive Garden’s infamous promotional privilege. Olive Garden’s sold out, seven-week-long unlimited pasta pass promotion just hit its first big hump -- if eating Olive Garden for nearly two months wasn't already considered an obstacle. pic.twitter.com/DlPwnwVLCD, — Stephen Gass (@PremiumGass) January 6, 2021. But over in the Fox studios, Sean Hannity found a personal angle to implicate Twitter in this hypocrisy: misinformation that had proliferated that very day about himself. That … An Olive Garden spokesperson confirmed the memo was fake, but declined to give further comment. “Never go to Olive Garden Again,” reads the caption. We've looked into it, we'll tell you what that's about" pic.twitter.com/upMKwtgaEV. I hate to explain the joke, but it was very, very well done, so much so that many people believed it was real — including, I’ll admit, me, briefly. But the irresistible typo of “viscous” instead of “vicious,” the hilarious and brand-appropriate renaming of Italian hospitality as “Hospitaliano” (which, indeed, is real), the fact that brands weigh in like this all the time, and the sheer volume of news to keep up with all combined to make the image go quickly viral and out of his control. Mantia’s image had all the hallmarks of one of these posts: It used the American chain restaurant’s logo and familiar colors (brown and olive green). This too, ultimately, is a gag. A mob of pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol building on Wednesday, breaking windows and stealing property, in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the counting of electoral votes that certified President-elect Joe Biden’s win. Olive Garden decided to one-up itself this year and release the pass to end all passes: The Unlimited Lifetime Pass for $400 plus tax. Cooper’s invocation of those mass-appeal brands as places rioters would choose to retire after a day of rioting brought on accusations of classism. https://t.co/7vj73K7OP6 pic.twitter.com/cG4FOWPrax, Throwing the explanation of the affair to Joe Concha, Hannity said, “Now, today, the leader of the free world’s permanently suspended [from Twitter], and I read on that same site — that believes in truth! Watching Hannity last night spend any amount of time on me, a ‘blue check’ who posted a ‘menacing report’ that is ‘fake news’ was icing on the cake of absurdity.”. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. That means you can eat pasta, sauce, breadsticks, and salad for the rest of your life. Following the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, Louie Mantia Jr. — a designer from Portland, Oregon, who happens to be verified on Twitter — posted an image to Twitter with the caption “A statement from Olive Garden.”, It appeared to be a few paragraphs from the company condemning the violence, promising to seek out rioters, and revoking a number of Pasta Passes, including Hannity’s. So have I. Sean Hannity may have agreed; for him, it seemed to become an opportunity. (This position also ignores the last however many years of GOP enthusiasm about the sacred autonomy of private companies.). I know that to be true, and I didn’t consider that aspect seriously enough. Get our newsletter in your inbox twice a week. Over the next few hours, Trump hopped from Twitter account to Twitter account, trying to threaten the tech company — and all tech companies — with Section 230, the free speech law that keeps tech companies from being liable for what third parties, i.e. Hannity — also a wealthy man, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $43 million — capitalized on this, using his regular-guy, Fox News bona fides to embrace the chain and shame Cooper. (Cooper is, after all, a member of the storied Vanderbilt family, which rose to prominence during the Gilded Age.) The Pasta Pass for 8 weeks of unlimited pasta, soup or salad, and breadsticks available for $100 The annual Pasta for unlimited pasta for an entire year for $300 Make sure to stay tuned to the Olive Garden website as the passes go live noon every August. It is still unclear if Sean Hannity was a Lifetime Pasta Pass holder. The original image was also very thoughtful and thorough. Two days ago, Anderson Cooper said those who attacked the Capitol would be returning to Olive Garden and Holiday Inn.And then, Sean Hannity spent time on his show talking about how much he loves Olive Garden.These things actually happened. Millions turn to Vox to understand what’s happening in the news. The Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating events that are targeting US spies and diplomats. If you buy something from a Vox link, Vox Media may earn a commission. The memo also said it revoked Never Ending Pasta Pass for other patrons. Hopefully this post has everything you want to know about Olive Garden … Republicans and Democrats agree we need an infrastructure bill. 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Sean Hannity went on air to refute the viral tweet that claimed his Olive Garden Lifetime Pasta pass was revoked. James Carville on the state of Democratic politics. Anderson Cooper just said “these people are gonna go back to the Olive Garden…tonight” ???????????????? "Coming up: There was a blue check tweet today that I lost my lifetime pasta card at Olive Garden. He was one of the lucky ones who snagged the limited edition unlimited pasta pass from Olive Garden, which … How a Twitter joke that spiraled out of its creator’s control gave the Fox News host a light way to talk about Trump’s Twitter ban. In 2018, Olive Garden’s limited Annual Pasta Passes, which allowed the bearer to a year’s worth of unlimited food, sold out in less than a second, per the Daily Meal. Concha keeps up the laughs by adding that the restaurant gives you more breadsticks than one man can responsibly consume — before sidestepping Mantia’s joke post and moving on to examples of false tweets that are still up: Chinese “mouthpieces” claiming the US created the coronavirus, and tweets that would seem to violate Twitter’s rules from the accounts of both Louis Farrakhan and white nationalist Richard Spencer. Here's what it was like. We took a 4-hour flight on the new Delta Airbus jet that Boeing tried to keep out of the US. The highly coveted Olive Garden Pasta Pass is back in 2019 with a twist: In addition to the usual pasta pass, which gives you unlimited pasta dishes for nine weeks, Olive Garden is offering a select few customers the chance to buy a LIFETIME pasta pass. The image was, as Mantia would explain, fake. But for the truly ardent Olive Garden pasta fans, however, once a year the chain offers the Never Ending Pasta Pass, a $100 allowance for all the pasta you can consume in eight weeks. The chain restaurant has been trending since Anderson Cooper said those who were involved with the Capitol Hill siege on Wednesday would “go back to the Olive Garden and to the Holiday Inn they’re staying at.”. It’s ridiculous. Jan 9, 2021, 9:04 AM Irene Jiang / Business Insider Olive Garden did not revoke the Lifetime Pasta Pass from Sean Hannity, or the Never Ending Pasta Pass from other patrons. Brands issue these statements commonly — both after they’re passingly implicated in an event and simply because of the magnitude of an event. We have worked with the FBI and the Holiday Inn in Washington D.C. to identify several guests who both frequented our restaurants and participated in the violent uprising against our government this week. And then, Sean Hannity spent time on his show talking about how much he loves Olive Garden. The fake memo said the chain restaurant had been working with the FBI and the Holiday Inn in Washington DC “to identify several guests who both frequented our restaurants and participated in the violent uprising against our government this week.”, OLIVE GARDEN IS OUT HERE REVOKING PASTA PASSES pic.twitter.com/rl1YZAwiOH. He explained in his thread that he worked to make it “an obvious joke” by, among other things, including the Cooper-related reference to the Holiday Inn. Olive Garden claimed that, if one were to purchase the $500 Lifetime Pasta Pass and somehow consume a bowl of pasta per day for 60 years, each bowl would cost less than three cents apiece. For pasta lovers, the best deal they should not miss is Olive Garden’s Never Ending Pasta Pass. (The Never Ending Pasta Pass being a pass that allowed the bearer unlimited pasta.). Drinks. Olive Garden has been trending on Twitter since the mob of pro-Trump extremists entered the Capitol building, and after CNN anchor Anderson Cooper said those who were involved would “go back to the Olive Garden and to the Holiday Inn they’re staying at” to discuss the events from the day. "People that know me will attest … (There but for the grace of realizing when something’s too good to be true.). At the time, the first 50 guests who purchased one of Olive Garden's 24,000 Never Ending Pasta Passes for $100 each could upgrade to a Lifetime Pasta Pass for an additional $400. John Greim/LightRocket/Getty Images On the evening … A satirical press release made to look like it came from Olive Garden circulated on Twitter, saying that it would revoke its "Never Ending Pasta Pass" for some of those guests, including Hannity.The Fox News host took this joke deadly serious in a segment on his show on Friday night. And the Pasta Pass! At around 6 pm ET on January 8, about an hour after Mantia posted his statement and a few hours before Hannity’s live show aired on Fox News, Twitter permanently banned President Trump from Twitter. Which is not true!”. I moved to the US from China — here are the biggest cultural differences I've noticed between the 2 countries, Bath & Body Works is now a standalone company — we visited a store and saw why it's been L Brands' secret weapon, CBA and NAB pass on RBA interest rate cut in full, but ANZ and Westpac defy Treasurer Josh Frydenberg's orders, How to watch Netflix on your TV in 5 different ways, The incredible story of Ferrari's 72-year journey from an upstart racing team to a $27 billion luxury brand. pic.twitter.com/uUa1HnFExI. The Never Ending Pasta Pass being a pass that allowed the bearer unlimited pasta, explainer about why brands are weighing in on what happened at Capitol, permanently banned President Trump from Twitter, Please consider making a contribution to Vox today from as little as $3, Trump supporters storm the US Capitol: News and updates, Pelosi renews call for Congress to investigate the Capitol insurrection, Mitch McConnell outlines what a second Trump impeachment trial might look like. After all 1,000 of the company's limited edition, $100 "Never Ending Pasta Passes" were sold within hours on Monday, dozens of lucky pass-holders decided to capitalize by turning to eBay. Olive Garden is vague as to how long a "lifetime" actually is, but since an 18-year-old can buy a pass, it could be 60 or 70 years' worth of unlimited pasta meals, and that is quite a savings. It’s ridiculous.