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Wal-Mart apologises for 'fat girls costumes' website blunder

Shoppers took to social media after retailer used "fat girl costumes" description on its website for plus-sized items

Maria Tadeo
Tuesday 28 October 2014 14:29 GMT
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Wal-Mart has apologised for labeling plus-sized Halloween outfits as "fat girl costumes" on its website.

The American retail giant found itself in hot water on Monday after a shopper spotted the blunder and shared a screenshot of the "fat girl costumes" section.

Wal-Mart was hit by a torrent of complaints from Twitter users who branded the description "unacceptable", "rude" and "shameful" and ultimately removed the section.

It also sent out individual tweets apologising for the faux pas and later issued a statement insisting that the page, which featured plus-sized models dressed in Halloween costumes, should have never gone live.

"This never should have been on our site. It is unacceptable, and we apologise. We worked quickly to remove this," a Wal-Mart spokesperson said.

However, it did not elaborate as to how the "fat girls costumes" title appeared on the site in first place. The page listing now redirects users to "women’s plus size Halloween costumes".

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