Walmart is under fire for having insensitive T-shirts for sale online in the wake of global Black Lives Matter protests after the death of George Floyd.
T-shirts on Walmart’s online store read “Black Lives Matter,” “Blue Lives Matter” and even “Irish Lives Matter.” The phrases are widely considered to be in counterprotest to the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
In a statement to Global News, Walmart Canada said: “At Walmart Canada, we stand against any form of racism or discrimination. We promote listening, seeking to understand and embracing individual differences. Today, our third-party marketplace has a number of items with variations on the phrase ‘lives matter.’ We will continue to review those items to ensure compliance with our terms and conditions.”
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Twitter user @BethMacDonell shared a screengrab of a variety of the shirts for sale on Walmart.ca. Two in the picture say “Black Lives Matter,” while the rest are spin-offs of the slogan.
“Remove these now,” the Twitter user tweeted. “You should be ashamed.”
In a followup to the original tweet, MacDonnell shared a screen capture of Walmart Canada’s response, which reads: “Hello Beth. These items are sold and shipped by third party sellers on our website. We’ve forwarded your comments to the appropriate department to look into it further. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”
Searching “lives matter” on Walmart.ca produces a 100-item hit, including an “All Lives Matter” shirt, as well as “Blue Lives Matter” and “Police Lives Matter” stickers, licence plates and signs.
Another Twitter user by the handle @KateUdle shared a link to one of the T-shirts for sale on Walmart.ca, asking: “Are you kidding me, @WalmartCanada? Disgusting. Do better.”
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The company responded with a similar reply, thanking them for bringing it to their attention.
Most of the shirts remain for sale on the website as of this writing.
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