(PCM) Walmart has stirred up some controversy after several customers noticed that there was a link on the company’s website that was labeled “Fat Girl Costumes” rather than the typical (and socially acceptable “Plus-Sized Costumes”) aimed at online shoppers looking to purchase Halloween costumes.
The incident was first reported by Jezabel.com, when are reader sent in an outraged comment about the harsh labeling. The first Twitter comment directed at the company criticizing the labeling was published back on 10/21 and received what appeared to be some sort of automated reply in response.
As more and more individuals began to chime in and complain to the company, it has become a huge public relations nightmare for Walmart overall. The hash tag #FatGirlCostumes was even trending for awhile on Twitter as the complaints continued to roll in!
It is thought that a computer programmer who was putting together the site added the “Fat Girl Costumes” label as an internal joke and failed to remove it before publishing online. After several days of the offensive label being up on their site, it appears that Walmart has finally come to their sense and the label has now been removed. The link now directs shoppers to the “Women’s Plus Size Adult” page.
A Walmart spokesperson had the following comments about the incident “This never should have been on our site. It is unacceptable, and we apologize. We are working to remove it as soon as possible and ensure this never happens again.”