The Walking Dead is no stranger to controversy. But typically, these controversies stem from content within the show itself such as excessive violence or the death of a fan-favorite character. That isn’t the case this time around.
Recently in the world of the way too easily offended, a shirt from the series’ clothing line was removed by a British clothing line for being “racist” and “fantastically offensive”. The shirt in question had a picture of a baseball bat with the words “Eeny Meeny Miny Moe” on it. Fans of the AMC zombie series will immediately recognize this as a reference to a scene where Negan is deciding who he is about to kill with a baseball bat. Now how in the world could this be seen as racist?
The famous rhyme “Eeny Meeny Miny Moe” is often followed with the phrase “Catch a tiger by the toe”. However, in the UK, it has historically had the word “tiger” replaced with a racial slur. Specifically the N-word. When shopper Ian Lucraft saw the shirt, he decided to complain about the potential racism…very loudly actually.
In an interview with the Warwick Courier, Lucraft stated:
“We were shocked when we came face to face with a new t-shirt with a racially explicit graphic and text. It was fantastically offensive and I can only assume that no one in the process of ordering it knew what they were doing or were aware of its subliminal messages. It is directly threatening of a racist assault, and if I were black and were faced by a wearer I would know just where I stood.”
Following a letter sent to the retailer, the shirt was pulled and an apology was issued.
Many have pointed out that Lucraft was overreacting and feel the shirt should be put back on store shelves. One individual who had something to say about it and that was Negan’s actor for The Walking Dead, Jeffrey Dean Morgan himself. In a tweet responding to the incident, Morgan said:
Holy crap people are stupid. 'Walking Dead’ Shirt Pulled From Stores After Complaint of Racism https://t.co/cpeIqcxTwJ
— Jeffrey Dean Morgan (@JDMorgan) February 22, 2017
This is a statement which fans would agree with.
Do you think the t-shirt was racist? Be sure to tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!