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Mum Slams Primark For 'Mean Girls' T-Shirt Range

Mum Slams Primark For 'Mean Girls' T-Shirt Range

“You Can’t Sit With Us.”

Mark McGowan

Mark McGowan

Budget high-street clothing retailer Primark hit the headlines after a parent claimed it is selling products which 'advocate bullying'.

Primark recently released a new range of t-shirts in the women's section of its stores with quotes from the film Mean Girls, leading an Edinburgh mum-of-two to call for the shirts to be pulled from the shelves.

In particular, one t-shirt has the phrase: "You Can't Sit With Us," a slogan which 48-year-old Dawn Thomson has labelled 'irresponsible'.

Credit: Universal Picture

Dawn said: "The one that really got to me was the one with 'you can't sit with us' on it.

"That's where it all starts, it's insidious. Children saying, 'that's my friend's place'.

"It's not physical violence at that point, but so many women will have had that experience of not being in the right crowd.

"It's so irresponsible."

Credit: Mercury Press

Though released in 2004, Mean Girls remains a hugely popular film in part because of its zingy script and quotable one liners from the likes of Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried and comedy stars Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, who wrote the film and admitted that she based much of it on her own nasty behaviour at school.

Thomson argued that the t-shirts could promote bullying, writing that she was 'sickened', while also calling for the t-shirts to be removed.

She said: "It's like that's legitimising it. With an adult wearing it it's like we are saying it is okay to act like that."

Credit: Mercury Press

Dawn and her children (Credit: Mercury Press)

Responding to the accusations that it was encouraging a culture of bullying, a Primark spokesperson delivered this message: "The T-shirt is, as clearly indicated, licensed merchandise from the popular movie Mean Girls and is part of an adult womenswear range.

"Its slogan is a quote from the film, and any offence caused is wholly unintentional."

Featured Image Credit: Mercury Press​

Topics: Primark