Primark, a British retailer, has pulled a The Walking Dead t-shirt from shelves due to complaints that the shirt is racist.
The T-shirt features a picture of Lucille – Negan’s barb wire-wrapped baseball bat that he uses to beat people to death (ouch) – and the words “Eeny Meeny Miny Moe.” Check it out below.
AMC
Within the context of The Walking Dead, the phrase is not considered racist among fans. The children’s rhyme is used when Negan is choosing from a lineup of characters to be on the receiving end of a Lucille beatdown. “Eeny meeny miny moe, catch a tiger by its toe,” he says in the scene. However, the rhyme does have an offensive origin and has historically been phrased as, “Eeny meeny miny moe, catch a n***er by his toe.”
“It was fantastically offensive and I can only assume that no-one in the process of ordering it knew what they were doing or were aware of its subliminal messages,” one shopper told The Telegraph. “It is directly threatening of a racist assault, and if I were black and were faced by a wearer I would know just where I stood.”
Some fans have taken to Twitter to voice their disagreement with Primark for pulling the shirt.
@Primark #BringBackNegan
The t-shirt was not racist, don't bow down to some loser not understanding the reference. Not racist!!!! #primark pic.twitter.com/eoNPONLszQ— James Marley (@w0lfiee_x) February 21, 2017
A spokesperson for Primark issued the following apology on behalf of the retailer:
“The t-shirt in question is licensed merchandise for the U.S. television series, The Walking Dead, and the quote and image are taken directly from the show. Any offense caused by its design was wholly unintentional and Primark sincerely apologizes for this.”
If you want to buy the T-Shirt, it is still available on Amazon.
What do you think, Dead-Heads? Is the shirt racist or no? Sound off in the comments below.
