London club forced to cancel 'Ebola-themed' Halloween party
West End venue accused of 'trivialising' thousands of deaths with 'reprehensible' charity event

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
"Anyone trying to make any personal benefit let alone light out of the Ebola situation is reprehensible," Tom Dannatt, chief executive and founder of Street Child, a charity which is running an Ebola crisis appeal, told the Daily Telegraph.
The promoters, a company called Momxdad, initially denied any wrongdoing, saying the name was merely a "play on words". However, the company has since decided to re-brand the event, changing it to just Saturday Night Fever. "[It] started as something light-hearted that was not supposed to be taken seriously" the company said. "[We] apologise if any upset or offence has been caused."
The organisers have also been forced to remove a hashtag - "#SpreadYourLegsNotEbola" - that had been linked to the event. "Given that the virus can be sexually transmitted", writes the Telegraph's Camilla Turner, the hashtag "may have added to the impression that they were trivialising the crisis".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Miriam Mason-Sesay, country director of EducAid, a charity working to stop the outbreak, said: "People are embarrassed about how they responded to HIV 30 years ago, but [the response to Ebola] smacks of those sorts of responses."
The venue said it had supported the charity event "as we take the Ebola crisis very seriously". It said it hoped to raise £1,500 in "discretionary donations". But Dannatt points out that "if it is a discretionary donation attaching a charity's name to the branding of a night - that's not charity, that's just wrong."
Separately, a US fancy-dress company has begun selling a "sexy Ebola containment suit" for Halloween.
The company Brands on Sale, has been widely condemned for its "disgusting" costume. The revealing outfit's description declares: "Fighting disease is no reason to compromise style.
"The short dress and chic gas mask will be the talk of Milan, London, Paris, and New York as the world's fashionistas seek global solutions to hazmat couture."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Should you fire your financial adviser? 4 signs it's time to say goodbye.
The Explainer Breakups are never fun, but you have to protect your wallet
By Becca Stanek Published
-
The daily gossip: Man arrested in connection with shooting of Tupac Shakur, an OceanGate movie is in the works, and more
Feature The daily gossip: September 29, 2023
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
What to expect from an El Niño winter
The Explainer Things might be different thanks to this well-known weather phenomenon
By Devika Rao Published