Anjelica Hayes, the owner of Fat Cupcake, poses for a picture with her father as they prepare to hand out cakes to the homeless population in Portland for their “Piece of Cake” project. (Photo: Fat Cupcake)

The owner of a Portland bakery that has been accused of racism because it offers an Oreo cupcake it calls “Mr. President” says the commotion is based on a misunderstanding that has spiraled out of control.

Anjelica Hayes, who is biracial, opened Fat Cupcake two years ago in Oregon City and named her new Oreo-based pastry “Mr. President” soon after. After the store opened a second location in southeast Portland last month, a Yelp reviewer accused Hayes of racism.

“Very troubling. They were serving a cupcake called the ‘Mr. President’ that had an Oreo cookie inside. When I tried to point out the racism implied, they claimed that ‘our current president loves Oreos,’” the commenter wrote.

The story was picked up by the Oregonian newspaper on Monday and went viral by Wednesday — much to Hayes’ surprise.

Yahoo News reached out to Hayes to hear what went into her decision to name the cupcake, and how she feels about the attention it has attracted.

Hayes said that when she first opened her shop, she thought she could have some fun with the names of her creations, rather than describe them simply as “vanilla cupcake with strawberry” or “salted caramel cupcake,” for example.

“I actually was with a friend at my house and said, ‘Here we go. Let’s name these cupcakes.’ We did it fast because we were tired, and all was well,” she said in a phone interview with Yahoo News.

A couple of months later, they decided to create a white cupcake covered in cookies and cream frosting, with an Oreo cookie baked in the middle. After they tasted it, she said, they were confident it would become a bestseller, so they wanted to give it a special name that would call attention to its exceptional quality.

The first idea that occurred to Hayes was “Tuxedo,” because a lot of off-brand Oreos are called Tuxedos, but the store already had a “Suit & Tie” cupcake.

“What’s another job/position that you would hold where you would wear a very fancy suit?” she recalled asking her staff. When they answered that it would suit the occupant of the Oval Office, she said, she came up with the name “Mr. President.”

The “Mr. President” cupcake at Fat Cupcake in Portland was renamed “The Professional” after a Yelp reviewer accused the shop of racism. (Photo: Fat Cupcake) More

“My only thought was: This will represent how elite the president’s office is,” Hayes said. “I never even considered or thought about it trying to refer to any specific president whatsoever.”

Shortly after its debut at the Oregon City location, nearly two years ago, the Mr. President cupcake became a hit on the Fat Cupcake menu. After the fact, a customer informed her that President Obama’s favorite cookies are Oreos, which, she said, seemed like a happy coincidence.

According to Hayes, it was only when the shop was accused of racism on Yelp that the controversy erupted. “Oreo” is sometimes used as a derogatory term for a black person who is considered to have adopted white behavior or values.

Hayes unequivocally rejected the notion that her cupcake had anything to do with race and immediately reached out to the reviewer to provide her contact information and put the matter to rest, she said.

“Racism is something that never even crossed my mind. I see everyone the same,” she said.

To avoid another misunderstanding, she said, the bakery decided to rename the cupcake “The Professional” temporarily. “We would never want someone to get the impression or have the idea that for some reason we would try to insinuate anything that would be disrespectful,” she added.

The same Yelp reviewer also noted that Fat Cupcake “had a cupcake with blue icing and cream filling called ‘The Intern,’” implying that the name had been inspired by the blue dress worn by Monica Lewinsky when she was an intern at the White House and was involved with President Bill Clinton.

Hayes pointed out that the cupcake in question has white vanilla frosting drizzled with caramel and that the reviewer must have confused it with another one. “I just had no idea what he was referring to,” she said. “I just didn’t get it. I didn’t understand what he was insinuating, so I had to ask someone.”