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Groupon Caught In Racism Storm Over Pair Of Boots Labelled With N-Word

Groupon Caught In Racism Storm Over Pair Of Boots Labelled With N-Word

The ad was taken down and the firm has since issued an apology

Anonymous

Anonymous

Customers of the online discount marketplace, Groupon, were stunned at how a pair of women's boots were described on their site yesterday morning.

Users noticed that a pair of brown 'Women's Fringed Suede Moccasin Boots', being sold for $52.99 (£37.69) - a discount of 46 percent, were labelled as 'n****r brown' in colour.

The ad was taken down by Groupon and the company issued an apology, saying they had also taken down the seller from their online platform, reports the BBC.

Groupon

Bill Roberts, vice-president of Groupon's Global Communications for the company, in a statement to US media said: "We are appalled that this language was displayed on our site.

"This product description was provided by a third-party seller via our self-service platform.

"Regardless, this is completely unacceptable and violates our policies - to say nothing of our values."

The company has received huge backlash on social media, with some Twitter users calling for a boycott of the site using the hashtag #ShutdownGroupon.

One person wrote on Twitter: "How does this 'mistake happen'? I don't buy it...(literally) never has, never will form Groupon."

Groupon

While another said: "I can't believe @Groupon has a woman's boot called 'N****r-Brown'.What type of color exactly is 'N****r-Brown'? Groupon has some explaining to do. #ShutdownGroupon"

This is not the first time a retailer has been accused of racism in recent months.

In January, fashion brand H&M was forced to apologise when it featured a hoodie with the slogan 'Coolest monkey in the jungle', modelled by a young black boy, on its website, which it later removed.

The image led to a similar wave of public criticism on social media encouraging people to avoid H&M entirely, slamming it as racist.

The incident saw high-profile stars cut ties on their collaborations with the brand, including singer The Weeknd who had been working with the firm since 2016.

This week it was announced that H&M's sales were down significantly, blaming bad weather for the slow sales over the snowy periods.

Words: Hannah Starkie

Featured Image Credit: Groupon

Topics: News, Fashion, US News