Walmart Pulls Racist and Islamophobic "Pashtun Papa" Costume
LatestIt may officially be November, but that doesn’t mean we’re safe from the tragedy that is terrible Halloween costumes. This time, it’s this crazy racist “Pashtun Papa Islamic Costume.” It’s a perfect ending to a banner year for straight up asinine-disguised-as-topical costumes.
As if the costume itself, complete with a turban and a beard, was not visually offensive enough, the description of the costume really sells it:
Represent the Middle East in this Mens Pashtun Papa Costume this Halloween season. Whether you’re making a serious political statement or staging a polical parody, this authentic-looking outfit is sure to fit the bill!
Our Afghan Pashtun Papa Costume features a long-sleeved beige top, matching beige pants, brown vest, Turban to match the vest and long grey beard. Nothing is sacred this Halloween. Shock your friends with this Islamic costume.
Nothing is sacred. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
To be fair, the costume and the ridiculous description are originally from Costume Kingdom, a third party vendor that works with Walmart. Pashtun Papa and other similarly gross costumes like “Arab Sheik” and “Chic Sheik” have since been removed. Senior Director of Walmart Corporate Communications told Buzzfeed News:
“When it was brought to our attention on social media, we began working to pull this down. We are deeply sorry that this costume is on our website, and we are pulling it down as soon as possible. We are calling on all of the other retailers to pull it down as well.”
“We have strict policies with our third party vendors, and It’s very important to us that products on the site don’t offend groups of people, or minorities.”
Walmart just can’t seem to get Halloween right this year. First their “Fat Girl Costumes” debacle earlier this week and now this? Good riddance, Halloween 2014, and thank god it’s November.
Image via Costume Kingdom.