Oh Halloween, it's the time of pumpkin spice lattes, candy and someone inevitably doing something horribly offensive. Making sure not to disappoint anyone on the horribly offensive front, Walmart created a section on its website devoted to "Fat Girl Costumes."
"We first heard about it this morning— our teams immediately engaged, we're working to remove it as soon as possible and make sure it never happens again," says Walmart spokesman Ravi Jariwala. "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."
The "Fat Girl" section was discovered after one online shopper searched the company website in an attempt to find a last-minute costume. The section featured many of the same costumes that are in the "Women's Plus Size Adult" section, making it appear like the section was a "joke" left behind by a developer or online merchandiser.
The retail giant has removed items in the section around 10:30 a.m. ET; however, searching for the "Fat Girl" section still showed plus-size Halloween options even after the section was pulled.
As of 2 p.m. ET, the search brings up only Halloween costumes for women.
Walmart finally issued an apology today for its insensitive marketing approach, after one customer received a general, robotic response on Twitter.
While the section is removed, Walmart still sells other offensive Halloween costumes like a Fat Tinkerbell costume for men. "Tinkerbell really let herself go since she has been out of work for so many years!" the description reads.
A spokesperson from Walmart says the company is investigating the incident.
