In late May 2022, James Chiavarini hosted a charity dinner at Pino, his sister restaurant to the historic Il Portico on Kensington High Street (open since 1967, founded by his father). The dinner raised £18,500 for Lumos, JK Rowling's charity supporting Ukrainian children displaced by war.
The backlash
On June 3, 2022, after Chiavarini tweeted thanking Rowling, activists noticed. That morning, he arrived at Il Portico to find a window smashed — tempered glass shattered from the outside, shards covering the floor.
Then came the reviews. One-star Google reviews flooded in from people who had never visited — including, Chiavarini noted, "people from Tallahassee." One woman posted identical negative reviews on two restaurants, including one that had been closed for over a year. Reviews called it "a Nazi restaurant" and stated: "If you're trans, you're not welcome here."
Staff received prank calls, death threats, and arson threats.
"It wasn't a gender critical event. It was about raising money for Ukraine."
— James Chiavarini
"We literally exist because we welcome everyone; it's how we pay the mortgage."
— James Chiavarini
What this case reveals
A restaurant that hosted a charity dinner for war-displaced children became a target because of who attended. Reviews were used not as consumer feedback but as a tool of political intimidation — alongside physical vandalism and death threats. When the review system enables this, it has become something fundamentally different from what it was designed to be.