Voodoo Doughnut Memorializes Charles Manson

PORTLAND, OR — The Sunday announcement out of Kern County, California that Charles Manson had died after a brief hospitalization was met with sadness by few. Across news outlets and social media platforms, there were plenty of opinions about the death of the infamous cult leader who in 1971 was convicted for his role in nine murders, including the killing of actress Sharon Tate — the pregnant wife of director Roman Polanski — and four of her house guests.

But in Portland, where things are typically kept weird, the popular Voodoo Doughnut offered a different kind of memorial, just as it has for many celebrities and local icons who've died: they made a doughnut depicting Manson's face.

In its first tweet, published around 10 p.m. Sunday, Voodoo added no commentary or caption with the photo; simply a #CharlesManson hashtag. But after an immediate, mostly vitriolic response, that tweet was deleted in favor of a more explanatory tweet at 10:15 p.m.

In its second attempt at who-knows-what-they-were-thinking, Voodoo added underneath the same hashtag, "*Not celebrating. Villains die too."

Also See: Charles Manson Dies At 83

That tweet, too, was deleted a short time later.

Voodoo is known for honoring fallen icons like Prince, David Bowie, and more recently AC/DC's Malcolm Young and local musician Fred Cole, but its decision to honor (?) or perhaps just acknowledge Manson's death struck many as questionable at best.

(Voodoo Doughnut declined to offer a comment or explanation when Patch raised the question Monday afternoon.)

Twitter user @SwooshMcDuck, who appears to also run an Oregon Ducks commentary site, screenshot the tweets (see below) prior to their deletion to ensure they wouldn't be forgotten.

Related Patch coverage:

Manson Family: Where Murderous Cult Members Are Today

Image: AP Photo, File