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Ann R. Tuennerman, founder of Tales of the Cocktail And Husband Paul In Blackface Incident A New Orleans couple who founded a major cocktail conference has plunged themselves into a racial firestorm after the husband posted a picture of his wife clad in blackface and an afro. In now deleted Facebook posts, Paul Tuennerman last week uploaded a video of his wife in blackface and an afro with the caption, “As he said ‘Throw a little Black Face on and you lose all your Media Skills.’ He did his best as the Interviewer.” The Tuennerman’s founded Tales of the Cocktail, a mixology conference that draws some 15,000 to 20,000 bartenders and mixologists from around the world, and pulls in millions a year in sales. Ann Tuennerman has since apologized, while her husband Paul resigned from Tales of the Cocktail last week, calling the blackface stunt “stupid,” and “was meant to be a husband’s innocent teasing of his camera-shy wife, not a belittlement of others.” But Joseph Solis, a mixologist for 15 years who works with Hennessy and founded the Sol Hospitality Group, said the blackface incident shows that there is a need for diversity and inclusion initiatives within the mixology and bartending industry. “I’ve been going there (Tales of the Cocktail) for years and I can’t count how many times I’ve been the only chocolate chip in the cookie,” Solis said. “I think it’s disgusting. I think it’s inappropriate and I think it’s inexcusable.” The blackface incident has also caused an uproar among bartenders of color around the country, many of whom said that they’ve been made to feel less than in the traditionally white male-dominated industry. Solis agreed: “Consider how much money people of color spend on alcohol,” he said. “This story needs to be told.” Tales of the Cocktail, Facebook

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Liquor Power Couple In Hot Water Over Blackface Pics