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Crowds gathered outside of D.C.’s famous Ben’s Chili Bowl on Wednesday for the unveiling of the restaurant’s new mural.
The original mural, which had become a local art landmark since its debut in 2012, featured paintings of then President Barack Obama, local musician Chuck Brown, local radio personality Donnie Simpson, and comedian Bill Cosby.
Cosby’s spot on mural came under fire after he was charged with sexually assaulting a former Temple University employee who said the comedian drugged and violated her at his home near Philadelphia.
In 2015, Cosby’s painting was defaced with an image of the controversial leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un. In January of this year the entire mural was painted over. On their website, the restaurant wrote that they were ready to ‘refresh and repaint.’
Temporary murals were painted on the outside wall of the restaurant’s U Street location in the months that followed including one with the words ‘Unity’ and ‘Love’ and another that featured Washington Wizards players during the team’s playoff push.
The new mural features some of the old faces, like Brown, Simpson and former President Obama (this time with former First Lady Michelle!) Cosby’s face was left off.
It also includes new faces like Prince, Muhammad Ali, rapper Wale, comedian Dick Gregory, actress Taraji P. Henson, radio personality Russ Parr, singer Roberta Flack and news anchor Jim Vance.
