Walmart Canada has removed an ad from a third party retailer which described swimwear for plus sized women as a “fat women swimsuit,” after some shoppers expressed disgust at the wording of the advertisement.
According to the CBC, the title of the ad read, “elegant floral print fat women swimsuit bellyband style beachwear.” In the product description, it also said that the suit was the “best choice for fat girls to spend hot summer.” The promotional photo for the product shows a plus-sized woman wearing what looks like a black or dark green drapey swimsuit with floral print accents.
The wording of the title and description makes it seem like it was a translation error by a foreign supplier said Amanda Hanson, a personal stylist from New Brunswick. She, however, maintains that the ad should have been vetted before it was published on the site. While it was still up on Walmart Canada’s site, she shared it with her friends and posted it on her company’s Facebook page. Hanson said that it triggered lots of anger and “swearing” from women who were just as offended by it as she was.
According to the CBC, Walmart later confirmed that it was, in fact, a translation mistake and that the text did not “reflect the company’s values.”
“This was a translation error on the part of the third-party seller,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We have removed the product from Walmart.ca and sincerely apologize for any unintended offence this has caused our customers.”
The news of this translation snafu comes after Walmart announced that it will be acquiring Eloquii, a plus-sized fashion brand with many devoted fans. Eloquii, which was once part of the Limited, became popular for selling modern, stylish clothes in plus sizes.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, many of those fans weren’t pleased that the brand would be added to Walmart because of fears that it would depreciate the quality of their goods. Others said that their decision to boycott Eloquii was inspired by Walmart’s “unethical” business practices.
On Twitter, several of its fans expressed disappointment at the move by Walmart.
“Walmart is acquiring @ELOQUII and I’m devastated. No more shopping there for me,” wrote Twitter user Dionna Humphrey.
“I’m embarrassed that you’re a) excited about this move and b) that you thought this was a good idea,” another former Eloquii customer tweeted to the company after the announcement. “You just lost a (very) loyal customer. I would wish you good luck, but you’re associated with one of the most unethical companies now so.”
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