× Expand Photo via flickr/Paul Sableman; Illustration by Jessica Palazzolo Master Pieza on Cherokee Street.

Master Pieza, the Cherokee Street restaurant known for selling from-scratch, healthier pizzas, sparked intense backlash Monday after posting support for Bill Cosby, the 78-year-old actor-comedian accused of serial sexual assault.

“I Love my brotha Bill Cosby,” Owner William Porter posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page on Sunday night.

× I Love my brotha Bill Cosby Posted by Master Pieza on Sunday, January 31, 2016

UPDATE, 2/2: Master Pieza has posted an apology to women offended by Porter's Facebook post and explaining more about why he published it:

× ALL the woman that were offended by this post i am deeply sorry. Love is how I live my life. Bill Cosby has been a... Posted by Master Pieza on Monday, February 1, 2016

Porter (pictured below) says he didn’t intend to comment on the sexual assault allegations made against Cosby, who faces trial this week for allegedly sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand in his Philadelphia home in 2004. In July, the court released a deposition from Cosby in which he admits to getting prescription Quaaludes to give women before having sex with them. Soon after, New York Magazine published detailed accounts from 35 women who accuse Cosby of drugging and sexual assaulting them.

“It has nothing to do with rape,” Porter says of his public support for Cosby. “All I said is, I love Bill Cosby. I have love for everything, not everything, but a bunch of the things he has done.”

In phone interview with SLM, Porter sounded surprised that his post caused an uproar.

“People are trying to crucify somebody for showing love,” Porter says. “When people try to put words in my mouth, that’s not really cool, is it? That’s not cool at all.”

Porter says he won’t delete the Facebook post because he has love for all people, including Cosby, regardless of their histories.

“I’m not going to take that down because I do love Bill Cosby,” Porter says. “I see people coming with hate, and what I say is love.”

× A photo posted by Masterpieza (@masterpieza) on Jan 18, 2015 at 11:09am PST

Porter, who says he doesn’t own a TV, admits he hasn’t been following news about Cosby closely but says he’s waiting to hear whether the comedian is convicted—not just accused—of sexual assault. He describes the actions Cosby is accused of as “horrible” if true.

“Do I understand and have sympathy for women if those charges are true? Oh yeah, I have a daughter, a 7-year-old daughter,” Porter says. “My thing is, if we believe in the [justice] system, let it do what it does. We need to have trust in it, if [the allegations] are real.”

As the controversial post started spreading on Facebook, former customers responded with anger and confusion.

“I hope you love losing female customers, too,” commented St. Louis resident Michele Landeau.

“Taking your number out of my phone forever,” St. Louis resident Deanna Brown wrote, adding a plug for another pizza place down the street. “Hey, Kevin’s Pizza is pretty good, everyone!”

Porter opened Master Pieza in 2014 and quickly developed a reputation for tasty, veggie-loaded pizzas and a dedication to serving the community. He named the restaurant as a play on the word “masterpiece." This month, Fortune magazine quotes Porter in an article about the lack of young black men in corporate America.

Contact Lindsay Toler by an email at LToler@stlmag.com or on Twitter @StLouisLindsay. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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