Baker No Longer Apologizing For “BUILD THAT WALL” Cookie

Here are more details from NBC's King5:

The owner of Edmonds Bakery is apologizing following social media uproar over politically-charged Valentine’s Day cookies.

Ken Bellingham says he’s responsible for the cookie in question – a pink heart frosted with “Build that Wall.” The cookie was in his display case Thursday. He said he only made one of the design.

But he says he’s been making the style of Valentine’s cookies – some more suggestive than others – for years.

“Some are a little risqué, some are nice,” he said. “I’m back there trying to think of what to write on a cookie. I try to be funny.”

The "Build that Wall" cookie is getting more attention online.

The Build that Wall cookie on Carrera's phone. She snapped the picture Thursday.

“People were just going off,” Bellingham said. “They don’t know anything about me and supposedly I’m some horrible person.”

The issue began when Ana Carrera visited the store Thursday, took a picture of the cookie, and shared it on Facebook.

“It’s hard to see words like that,” she said.

Hard, she said, because it felt personal. Her parent fled Mexico for the U.S. in the 80s, fearing the drug cartels.

“We were born here, but my parents were the stories you see on the news of people crossing the border because they just want a new start,” Carrera said.

It’s why she finds it to be such an offensive phrase.

“You say something with enough hate – you chant it, you have white supremacists, the alt-right chanting it – it’s going to become racial,” she said.

Bellingham apologized for offending anyone – telling multiple critics on Facebook it was a “mistake.”

He told KING 5 he meant it to be a joke – not a political statement on behalf of the bakery.

Then he wised up and realized he had NOTHING to apologize for.

From KOMO News:

Ken Bellingham says he’s “unapologizing” for the "Build the Wall" cookie he sold last week.

And now, he’s re-selling the controversial cookies by the dozen.

“The phone messages saved has like 40-or-50 messages that I can’t even respond to from people all over the country wanting me to ship them cookies,” said Bellingham on Thursday.

Bellingham, who’s owned the Edmonds Bakery for 26 years, initially apologized for designing and selling the "Build the Wall" cookie last week.

On Tuesday, he wrote on the company’s Facebook page, “I will not be making anymore cookies of a political nature, but a narrow line of Love and Sweetheart and maybe Nice Butt.”

But on Thursday, Bellingham told KOMO News he’s protected by the First Amendment in selling these cookies.

“Am I supposed to be quiet because I can’t write what I want, or I can only write what they want or makes them happy? No. That’s not how it is. They can write whatever they want on their own cookie and I can do that on mine.”

A patron, Ana Carrera, saw the cookie and took a picture of it, and sounded off, upset about what Bellingham initially called a joke.

“There’s nothing funny about racism or racist ideals + policies,” Carrera said on Facebook.

Her Facebook post caught the attention of liberals and conservatives across the country.

KOMO reached out, but Carrera was unavailable for a follow-up interview Thursday.

Others KOMO spoke with on Thursday said this baker’s decision to sell the cookies does not reflect the character of the Edmonds business community.

“We cannot condone this type of behavior and business practices not only in Edmonds but anywhere in the country,” said an Edmonds businessman who asked to remain anonymous.

Bellingham said he does support border security but would not go as far as to say he supported a wall.

In the end, he said his decision to sell the ‘Build the Wall’ cookies was a business decision, rather than a political one.

“People should lighten up,” said Bellingham, as he etched ‘Lighten Up’ on a heart-shaped cookie.

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