The phrase “Amy Winehouse cake” doesn’t refer to any actual birthday cake at all, but to a controversial Halloween prank involving the late singer. In 2011, actor Neil Patrick Harris (of How I Met Your Mother) and his husband David Burtka hosted a Halloween party just three months after Winehouse’s death. They served a meat platter arranged to look like Winehouse’s corpse, complete with her beehive hair and a cigarette. A sign next to it read “The Corpse of Amy Winehouse”, and even listed the platter’s contents – “beef ribs, pulled pork, chicken sausage in a spicy BBQ sauce”. In other words, the “cake” was a gory roast-meat display, not a dessert. Unsurprisingly, when the story and images of the platter resurfaced years later, many people found the joke extremely tasteless and offensive.
Timeline of Events
· July 23, 2011: British singer Amy Winehouse (age 27) dies of alcohol poisoning.
· Oct 2011: A few months after her death, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka hold a Halloween party. At the buffet, they place a platter made to look like Winehouse’s decaying body.
· Oct 2011: Guest Justin Mikita (husband of actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson) snaps a photo of the platter and tweets it (then quickly deletes the post).
· 2011–2021: The incident received almost no media attention at the time, and Harris/Burtka never publicly addressed it.
· May 2022: Writer Ashley Reese tweets about the “disgusting Amy Winehouse cake,” bringing the 2011 photo to thousands of new viewers.
· May 2022: Amid a wave of online outrage, Neil Patrick Harris issues a statement calling the stunt “regrettable” and apologizing for any hurt it caused.
The 2011 Halloween Party Stunt
During that 2011 party, guests were greeted by an unusual “centerpiece”. The buffet included a roast-meat display labeled “The Corpse of Amy Winehouse”. In the shared photo, the platter appears as a bloodied, rotting figure with Winehouse’s iconic beehive hairdo and visible tattoos. A handwritten note beside the dish made clear who it was meant to represent. For example, BuzzFeed News describes the scene: the platter’s “disturbing photo” showed a graphic corpse complete with Amy’s hairdo. Another note read “The Corpse of Amy Winehouse” to remove any doubt.
In reality, the platter was just a plate of barbecue meats, not a cake. The note spelled out exactly what it contained: “Beef ribs, pulled pork, chicken sausage in a spicy BBQ sauce”. Summarized in bullet form, the main ingredients were:
– Beef ribs
– Pulled pork
– Chicken sausage (all coated in a spicy barbecue sauce).
Nothing about this display looked like a traditional cake or dessert – it was literally a “meaty corpse” joke.
At the party itself, photos of the platter were briefly shared. Celebrity guest Justin Mikita (actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s husband) posted the image on Twitter with a mocking caption (“Look who showed up… Halloween party last night. Looking good.”), then deleted it after a short time. At the time, however, almost no public fuss was made. As BuzzFeed later reported, “the controversy was quickly dismissed and neither Neil nor David ever addressed their decision to serve the dish”. In other words, back in 2011, the incident flew mostly under the radar and was treated as an ill-advised private joke.
Renewed Backlash (2022)
More than a decade later, the story exploded online. In May 2022, writer Ashley Reese tweeted about the “Amy Winehouse cake” photo, calling it “disgusting”. Her tweet went viral, and suddenly thousands of people saw the graphic image for the first time. Social media users reacted with shock and anger. Many pointed out that it was sick and cruel to portray Winehouse, who had died tragically young, in such a manner. For example, outlets reported that some people called the display “disturbing” and “cruel”. Other comments on Reddit and Twitter said it was “wildly inappropriate” and “in poor taste.” In short, the prank was widely condemned by 2022, even if it had been ignored in 2011.
Neil Patrick Harris’s Apology
Facing mounting criticism, Neil Patrick Harris finally spoke out in mid-May 2022. In an exclusive statement to Entertainment Weekly, Harris said the old photo was “regrettable then, and it remains regrettable now.” He praised Winehouse as “a once-in-a-generation talent” and apologized “for any hurt this image caused”. Other media likewise reported Harris’s apology, noting he expressed genuine remorse for the prank. In effect, Harris owned up to the joke and emphasized that he never meant to hurt anyone.
His apology was welcomed by some fans, though others still criticized the timing. As one social-media post put it, “I loathed that man ever since’ seeing the image. But Harris’s statement seemed aimed at closing the chapter, acknowledging that the stunt was in bad taste.
A Lesson in Respect
This strange episode has become a cautionary tale about humor and sensitivity. Amy Winehouse was a beloved artist who struggled with addiction and died very young, so many people found it especially cruel to turn her death into a Halloween gag. For context, BuzzFeed noted that Winehouse had often been mocked in public due to her addictions, so the platter only continued a trend of insensitive jokes. Critics argued that it would have been far less offensive to use a generic fake corpse for Halloween; singling out Amy by name “put it over the top”.
In the end, most observers agree that the “Amy Winehouse cake” was a tasteless prank. Neil Patrick Harris himself admitted it was “regrettable.” The incident reminds us that some topics – especially illness or death – can easily cross a line if made into a joke. While Harris apologized and highlighted Winehouse’s legacy as a great artist, the controversy still stands as a lesson: humor is fine, but respect should always come first.
Key Takeaways: The term “Amy Winehouse cake” refers to a 2011 Halloween party prank by Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, in which a meat platter was made to look like Amy Winehouse’s corpse. The platter’s contents (barbecue meats) and the sign (“The Corpse of Amy Winehouse”) were meant as a dark joke. The incident drew little attention at first, but when the photo resurfaced on social media in 2022, it prompted widespread outrage. Harris eventually apologized, calling the stunt “regrettable” and expressing regret for any hurt caused. The episode is often cited as an example of humor gone too far and a reminder to treat sensitive subjects with care.
