Lou Malnati's Is Furious With Emily In Paris. Here's Why
Would you give up Chicago style deep-dish pizza for Parisian pain au chocolat? If that sounds sacrilege, don't point your fingers at us. If you feel the need to unleash your wrath on anybody, take it out on Emily, from Netflix's latest phenomenon, Emily in Paris. Earlier this week The Atlantic pronounced the show to be an "irresistible fantasy... where good intentions and accomplishing the bare minimum are enough." Refinery 29 ruminated if the show could already be such a hit that even celebrities like Blake Lively are watching, while Entertainment Weekly gushed over Lucas Bravo, the actor who plays Emily's dreamy French neighbor and love interest. Well slow down, y'all — you may have been too quick on the "instant classic" trigger. Emily in Paris has just landed itself in some serious hot water (or maybe bubbling vats of tomato sauce).
According to The Takeout, it happened like this. In an early episode, Emily's French boss compares deep-dish pizza to "a quiche made of cement." Emily gasps, "You must have gone to Lou Malnati's." Of course, Lou Malnati's found out, and the legendary Chicago pizzeria did not think twice before rallying the troops. They didn't bother with cinephiles, but instead sent out a strongly worded email to America's food writers — and America's food writers responded.
The shade Lou Malnati's threw at Emily in Paris
Food & Wine restaurant editor Khushbu Shah shared an image of the statement to Twitter. "While the writers of Emily in Paris may not be fans of deep-dish pizza or Lou Malnati's in particular, generations of Chicagoans would strongly disagree," the pizzeria scolded. "It feels especially unkind to disparage anyone during these difficult times, given that most restaurants are struggling to hang on... When Netflix' Emily in Paris writers chose to take a shot at Chicagoans and our pizza to try to get a laugh, it felt heartless and not humorous in the midst of Covid-19." Upon seeing Malanati's email, journalists wasted no time getting on their virtual soapboxes, re-tweeting and re-tweeting the letter.
24 hours later and it's not even close, social media is squarely behind Lou Malnati's. "Makes me never want to watch the show" and "I was planning to watch the show, but not anymore" wrote incensed deep dish pizza lovers on a meme posted to Lou Malnati's Instagram. On another meme posted by the pizzeria, fans of the Chicago classic who (like Emily) spent some time away from the beloved restaurant admitted, "Everyone knows Lou's is the best. I used to bring 8 frozen pizzas back with me on a plane to LA." and "Lou's was my craving after 3 months living abroad in England. Told my parents we need to go right after I landed there at o'hare." Game over. Emily in Paris: 1, Lou Malnati's: 100.