A store has ditched Halloween costumes of a Confederate general and Confederate officer after a mother’s complaint in which she dubbed the outfits racist.
Party City, one of the biggest costumes and party supplies retailers in the States, has ordered all of their partners and franchisees to remove Confederate costumes from their locations.
The issue with Confederate costumes was raised by Caroline Brasler, a Virginia mom of two adopted Black children, who called out the store on social media where she called the outfits “completely offensive and racist.”
According to the reports, the mother discovered two types of Confederate costumes whereas one represented a Confederate officer and the other aimed to portray Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
“Why is this stocked in your store? I just stopped into your location in Fall Church, VA for a few items and found this for sale. I turned around and walked right back out the door. This is completely offensive and racist. Pull it from your shelves,” Brasler wrote in her post in which she tagged the retailer.
As the upset mother confirmed in an interview with WUSA-TV, she refused to make a purchase at Party City following her discovery.
“The Confederate flag to me is a symbol of racism. To have that out there for a child to wear on Halloween sends so many horrible messages,” the mom insisted.
After the matter went viral, Party City claimed the controversial costumes were being offered at the Fall Church franchise location and were not sold at company-owned locations.
“As the leader in Halloween with more than 60 million customers per year, Party City supplies a broad assortment of costumes, none of which are meant to be offensive in any way,” the retailer said in their statement.
“The costume in question was sold at a franchise location and is not produced or sold in any Party City corporate-owned stores.”
As the company statement went on to suggest, all Party City partners and franchisees have been told to remove Confederate costumes from their stores.
“We have reached out to our franchisees and other partners to remove it from all retail locations ASAP. We know that as a company, we can and must do better, and we’re taking immediate action,” the company statement added.
Replaced!