Las Vegas Liquor Store Removes "Offensive" Billboard

A Las Vegas liquor store is removing a billboard that reads: "Alcohol: It's cheaper than therapy" after it pissed off passers by and sparked a Change.org petition. The owner of Lee's Discount Liquor, Kenny Lee, says the billboard was meant to complement the business's comedic TV ads, one which featured a celebrity cameo by NFL legend Mike Ditka. But locals didn't find the message so funny. Some petitioned for the billboard to be removed, claiming it was insensitive to alcohol's dangers including "broken families" and fatal DUI accidents. "With the alcohol problems Las Vegas residents and others have, the billboard encouraging alcohol consumption versus seeking therapy is a socially irresponsible message to everyone—children, teens, adults, and the victims of alcohol misuse," reads the petition. Lee wrote to the Las Vegas Sun to say that he would take down the controversial ad, which his father, who founded the liquor store, also did not find amusing. "Trust me, I heard an earful from my dad," Lee wrote. But not everyone was offended: an online poll provided by a local music radio station asked people if they were offended by Lee's billboard: 81% responded "It's a joke. Take it easy." While 18% said "Alcohol is nothing to joke about."