These London Dungeon Posts About Sex Workers Have Sparked Outrage

The London Dungeon is facing backlash after posting a series of tasteless, tone-deaf 'Valentine's Day' memes which joke about murdered sex workers and serial killers. The famous tourist attraction has been accused of misogyny and making light of the deaths of sex workers after it shared a succession of posts on its official social media accounts yesterday. The most shocking post, which angered swathes of people online, read: "What’s the difference between your job and a dead prostitute? Your job still sucks.”

Another "joke" referred to the famous serial killer: “Jack the Ripper just messaged. He wants to Netflix and kill.” The message accompanying the post, made on Twitter, read: “Oh that Jack the Ripper… What’s he like!” Another post read: “I love a girl that’s a good eater. Female translation: You’re fat.” The posts have since been deleted and the venue's managers have been forced to apologise, the Evening Standard reported. This morning it posted a simple "We're sorry" graphic on social media, which failed to explain how the catastrophic errors of judgement were made in the first place.

The public backlash to the posts was immediate, with people voicing their shock and concern on both Twitter and Facebook. Jen Allison wrote on Twitter: "I'm genuinely speechless at that London Dungeon 'campaign'. I've worked in ads for 10 years and that's one of the worst things I've seen." Alison Braganza echoed many when she posted beneath the venue's Facebook apology: "You're sorry??? I am glad you have taken down all those 'Dark Valentine' posts but why don't you now apologise properly and explain!" She suggested the London Dungeon social media team "needs firing and a rebrand" for the "wholly inappropriate, offensive and appalling messages". A spokesman for the venue told the Evening Standard: “We apologise that our social posts caused offence." He said the so-called ‘Dark Valentine’ campaign "aimed to highlight the darker side of history and create debate and conversation". “As a brand we strive to entertain our guests so they can enjoy the London Dungeon experience – both in our attraction and on social media," he added. “However on this occasion we recognise that some of the topics many felt were inappropriate and therefore we apologise for any offence cause.”