Walmart Removes “Fat Girl” Halloween Costume Page

Walmart has removed a section on their website which marketed “Fat Girl” Halloween costumes, and apologized, calling it “unacceptable.”

Fat Girl Costumes

A blogger on the website Jezebel called Walmart out on a section of Halloween costumes labeled “Fat Girl Costumes.” Writer Anna Merlan exposed the story in which a reader tipped her off to the “fat girl” section of Halloween costumes. This product page appeared to duplicate the more politically-correct “plus size” section, and it is unknown why a “fat girl” section would have existed at all. Merlan suggests that it may have been created by a developer as a joke, and not intended for public viewing.

The costumes could be found categorized under Party & Occasions>Halloween>Adult Halloween Costumes>Women’s Plus Size Halloween Costumes>Fat Girl Costumes. 

A Twitter user tweeted Walmart about the offensive section on October 21, and appeared to receive an auto-reply:

@ItsWithaY Your comments and suggestions are important to us and help make Walmart even better. Thank you. -Nao

— Walmart (@Walmart) October 21, 2014

Page Removed

The story picked up steam by Monday, October 27, and it appears that the powers at Walmart took note. While the page itself still existed on Walmart’s website as late as October 27, there was no direct navigation to it, nor were any costumes on display on the page. By mid-day Monday, the navigation disappeared and the offensive section was forwarding to Women’s Plus Size Halloween costumes page.

In light of the removal, Jezebel writer Merlan added, “Getting closer, guys!”

Walmart Responds

BuzzFeed News contacted Walmart, who told them they were working to remove the page and “make sure it never happens again.” The retail giant also stated, “It is unacceptable, and we apologize.”

Bottom Line

Walmart’s website contained a section devoted to “Fat Girl Costumes” which appeared to mirror the “plus size” section. The link now forwards to the Women’s Plus Size Halloween Costumes page.