Olive Garden denies sending a threatening letter to a Seinfeld parody account over a tweet that claimed it stopped selling AR-15 rifles

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March 3, 2018 1:44 AM

The parody account @Seinfeld2000 posted a cease-and-desist email demanding that it delete a tweet that claimed Olive Garden stopped selling AR-15 rifles.

A spokesperson for the Olive Garden parent company, Darden Restaurants, denied that it sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Seinfeld parody account on Friday.
The apparently fake letter demanded that the account @Seinfeld2000 remove an earlier tweet that said, "respect to Olive Garden for no longer selling AR-15s at all their locations."
It asserts: "Olive Garden has spent years building its reputation as a family friendly restaurant that is safe for all patrons to dine in," and accuses the parody account of "spreading false, destructive and defamatory rumors."
“Our legal team has not been in contact with this individual or sent them the message that was posted,” a Darden Restaurants spokesperson told Business Insider in an email on Friday.

A spokesperson for the Olive Garden parent company, Darden Restaurants, denied that a lawyer representing the firm sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Seinfeld parody account on Friday.

The account, @Seinfeld2000,posted an image of a letter it claimed to have received from the company.

“Our legal team has not been in contact with this individual or sent them the message that was posted,” a Darden Restaurants spokeswoman told Business Insider via email.

The apparently fake letter accuses the account of "spreading false, destructive, and defamatory rumors" about it, stemming from an earlier tweet the account posted that said "respect to Olive Garden for no longer selling AR-15s at all their locations."

The parody account typically comments on modern-day happenings through the lens of humor that mirrors the 1990s sitcom, "Seinfeld."

The account's AR-15 tweet follows moves from multiple retailers that have announced changes to their gun-sales policies in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting.

Companies including Walmart, Dick's Sporting Goods, and others have either said they would raise the minimum required age for certain gun purchases, or would stop selling certain types of guns entirely.

Other companies have said they would end their business partnerships with the National Rifle Association.

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