Walmart sorry for ‘fat girl’ costumes, changes category to ‘plus size’
Walmart is apologizing after having labeled a category of merchandise on its website “fat girl costumes.”
A flurry of negative publicity ensued, of course. The Twitterverse said “Boo” -- as in “wrong approach, Walmart,” not as in “time for a Halloween fright.”
The category, which has since been changed to the more politically correct “plus size,” featured costumes of vampires, chambermaids, witches and more in larger sizes.
As to the label “fat girl costumes,” “This never should have been on our site,” Wal-Mart said in a statement Monday. “It is unacceptable, and we apologize. We are working to remove it as soon as possible and ensure this never happens again.”
The fat girl label may have disappeared, but the term “fat girl costumes” still shows up in the website’s search bar. When you click on it, you’re taken to a page with children’s costumes, including an American Indian girl costume, a Greek goddess costume, police girl costume and more.
The term “fat girl slim cream” also populates in the search bar and takes you to a page for Slim Fast.
People began tweeting about the fat girl category last week, but it remained on the website until Monday morning.
After Kristyn Washburn tweeted, “Not sure labeling these as ‘fat girl costumes’ is the best approach,” last Tuesday, Walmart responded with “your comments and suggestions are important to us and help make Walmart even better.”
And although the “fat girl category” no longer exists, you can still purchase a “fat Tinkerbell funny storybook” men’s Halloween costume, which comes with a green fairy fat suit and a blonde wig.
Halloween should be a government-recognized holiday. Follow me on Twitter @Jenn_Harris_.
