Paul Roof has had a busy weekend. On Friday he was canned from Charleston Southern University, where he was Associate Professor of Sociology. The reason was that Roof’s impressive, four-pronged facial hair is on the label of Holy City Brewing’s Chucktown Follicle Brown beer. According to News 2, CSU told him that having his whiskers on a beer can “was not representative of a Christian environment.”
Photo: Holy City Brewing
The illustration on the label is based on a photo taken by Greg Anderson; according to Gawker, Roof was competing in a beard competition in New Orleans when the snap was taken. People were understandably indignant about the decision.
In the latest “South Carolina is the worst” news: Paul Roof was fired because his image was used on a beer can. https://t.co/bVCrmlxUdp
I may have graduated from CSU, but I support Paul Roof and proudly sell @HolyCityBrewing Chucktown Follicle Brown. Freedom to drink Beer!
The amount of times I saw @CSUNIV administration staff at bars throwing down shots is a bit hypocritical to the firing of Paul Roof.
Sorry to hear about your “beard persecution” #paulroof. Stand strong brother…and stay hairy. #BeardGang #beard
Holy City Brewing immediately posted a message of support, and explained that they brewed the beer in the first place to help raise money for Lowcountry Women with Wings, an organization that supports women diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
On Saturday, a crowdfunding campaign was set up to raise $1,000 for the charity in Paul’s name. It quickly surpassed it’s goal and, as of this morning, has raised a total of $3,160.
Roof is reportedly seeking legal counsel, but posted this heartwarming message on Facebook:
[via Gawker]