Cardi B weighs in on TikTok creator Keith Lee and viral Atlanta food scene drama
Atlanta, Georgia - Popular food critic Keith Lee sparked some drama when he shared his recent review of Atlanta restaurant The Real Milk & Honey on TikTok. The influencer noted the locale's poor customer service and that he and his family left without any food – and the clip has caused huge controversy and a weigh in from rapper Cardi B.
While Lee made sure to discourage any hate to the restaurant in his video published on Friday, a heated debate over the restaurant's strict rules soon ramped up.
These rules include no separate checks, no reservations, no parties of more than four people, an automatic 18% tip added on checks over $75, and no alterations to menu items regardless of allergies, health, or personal food restrictions.
The creator noted in a follow-up video that death threats had allegedly been sent based on his first viral video, something he wholeheartedly denounced.
The threats were mistakenly directed at a different local Atlanta restaurant with a similar name, Milk and Honey, which was not the establishment reviewed in Lee's video.
The Real Milk & Honey gets messy in their response to Keith Lee
Immediately following the review, The Real Milk & Honey got a bit messy as their official TikTok account shaded Lee. The now-deleted video, which showed the restaurant owner saying he'd never heard of Keith Lee, was captioned, "Every business small or large, successful or not, has worked really really hard to try their best to mark their mark in an extremely tough business."
The post went on to say, "As a successful restaurateur/owner I never drag anyone’s business even if I’ve had a disappointing moment because I have principles and I know how hard any business worked just to start!"
The Real Milk & Honey has since changed course and released an official Instagram apology to Lee and the public: "We extend our apologies to all as we address a recent incident that highlighted a review from a high-profile food blogger. In no way were we trying to discredit anyone," the statement said. "If the comments came across as such, kindly accept our apologies."
They continued, "It’s crucial to always take feedback and make improvements for the success of our business and our community. We’ve taken time to reflect on the incident and have started internal corrective actions with our team regarding communication styles."
Cardi B reacts to the Keith Lee situation
Cardi B, who has a home in Atlanta with her husband Offset, joined the discourse on Instagram Live, where she defended Keith Lee's review.
"First things first, right? I feel like Atlanta restaurants… They don’t like to make money," the rapper said on her live. "I feel like they don’t like people, they don’t like their customers, they just don’t f***ing like it."
"You can barely order in Atlanta restaurants. Like you call, and they’re like, 'Oh, we don’t take orders. We don’t take orders,'" Cardi said. "It gets to the point that I literally have people that order for me, like, 'Hey, can you just name-drop my name?'"
The rapper continued that, in her experience, many Atlanta eateries have peculiar rules and restrictions. "First, they don’t do no pick-up orders, they don’t do deliveries, they just don’t do sh*t... Or they’ll just have the most random days closed," the star said. "It’s just the most random sh*t."
According to their Instagram stories, The Real Milk & Honey is set to have a champagne meet and greet with the owner on Saturday, November 4 at noon. It's unclear if it's due to the recent drama, or if the debacle will be addressed.
Cover photo: Collage: Screenshot/Instagram/@therealmilkandhoneyatl & Screenshot/TikTok/@keith_lee125