A woman who visited an Italian pizzeria felt the urge to stand up and clarify that she isn’t harbouring xenophobic beliefs, eyewitnesses have reported.

Freya Emerson, 25, politely ordered a 10” pizza with tomato sauce and cheese at Zizzi in Castlefield — but was anxious fellow customers might get the wrong end of the stick, despite her exaggeratedly pronouncing it “pizza margherita”.

“It really isn’t a problem,” Waitress Krista Shure, 22, assured her, before Emerson stood on the table to make a public announcement.

“I just want to make it known that I’ve got sensory issues. I’m not like your racist uncle,” Emerson explained.

“When I asked if she’d like any extra toppings, she shook her head in fear,” Shure said. “As if I’d offered to smash in her hamster’s skull with the pepper grinder.”

“Pasta’s not very English, is it?” said somebody’s Uncle Alan.


Like what you’ve read so far? Make us your new special interest! Help us grow The Daily Tism by sharing our articles, following us on InstagramBluesky  TikTok and Facebook and subscribing to our Patreon for exclusive content that’ll have your neurotypical family saying “I’m not sure I’m the target audience”.