The follow up instagram post, so the one after she showed off her awful looking sign:

    > I want to address the recent conversation surrounding our fall menu boards.
    > The design was created using gen AI. I want to be transparent about that. At the time, I genuinely did not understand the extent of the concerns surrounding AI-generated artwork, particularly the impact it can have on artists and the environmental concerns associated with it.
    > My intention was never to disrespect artists, take credit for someone else’s work, or diminish the value of human creativity. I was simply trying to put together our fall menu during an especially busy and demanding time for me and our small team.
    > That said, I have listened to the feedback. I understand why people have strong feelings about it, and I respect those concerns. Going forward, I have decided that Penny’s Coffee Shop will not be using AI for our menu artwork and promotional designs.
    > What has been difficult for me, however, is the amount of negativity, personal attacks, and messages that followed this situation. There is a real person behind this small business. I am doing my best to run a local coffee shop, support my team, serve our community, and navigate being a new mom at the same time.
    > I am always willing to listen, learn, and do better. I just hope we can have those conversations with kindness and respect.
    > To everyone who continues to support Penny’s, especially through a challenging time for our business, thank you. Your support means more than you know. 

    - I'm sorry
    - I know my use of gen AI made it seem like I dislike artists
    - That's not a belief of mine
    - I'll prove that by not using gen AI at my cafe for this sort of thing ever again
    - Please be kind to me, this is a small business and I'm very stressed out

Talking to business insider was exactly the wrong thing to do after that. Your sign looks bad. You've made the awful mistake of telling more people about your bad sign with the intent of making them feel sympathetic. Even if they feel sympathetic, people still look at the bad sign you made in desperation along with the framing from BI and think... "oh so maybe she shouldn't be running a cafe then. This seems like she's barely getting by at this point".

On the flip side, telling someone "pay my artist friend or else I'll go out of my way to tell people primed to hate you based on a single detail, about only that 1 single detail" is actual old-school extortion.

Everyone in this story is tiring and annoying.