Norwalk's Penny's Diner III Unfairly Implicated in Twitter Hoax, Says Owner

NORWALK, CT - A racially insensitive Twitter post was recently attributed to the popular Norwalk diner Penny's III, but the owner says it did not come from his establishment.

The Connecticut Post reports that a Twitter page called @pennysnorwalk carried a tweet that showed a $20 bill with a picture of Harriet Tubman, comparing her to First Lady Michelle Obama and former NBA star Dikembe Mutombo with the hashtag #AllLookTheSame.

The Twitter page has since been deleted, but Penny's III owner David Koskerides is vehemently denying his East Norwalk restaurant had anything to do with the hoax. He told the Post that the diner has never had a Twitter page or Facebook profile, and he considers the tweet to be offensive. He said he has no idea who set up the fake account, nor who wrote the tweet.

Unfortunately for the diner, the fake tweet went viral, reports Fox61 News, which has led to some people blasting the restaurant on Yelp and on an unofficial Penny's Restaurant Diner page on Facebook.

Koskerides has filed a complaint about the incident with the Norwalk police.

Tubman, who operated the Underground Railroad to help free slaves in the 1800s, will be the new face on the $20 bill, replacing former President Andrew Jackson.

Click here to read the full story on the Connecticut Post, click here to read the full story on the Fox61 News website and click here to read Patch's profile of Jackson, and why replacing his picture with Tubman's on the $20 bill should be considered proper.

Image: Screenshot of Harriet Tubman from Women on 20s website; portrait of Harriet Tubman: Ohio History Connection, dated circa 1887 by H.G. Smith, Studio Building, Boston.