Customers of the fashion clothing brand Forever 21 were taken by surprise when they found a snack along with their clothing orders. It turned out to be a low carbohydrate Atkins bar. Soon, the customers who placed orders for ‘plus-size’ clothes took it to social media accusing the clothing brand of fat-shaming.
This triggered a series of outrage against the American retailer.
“I went from a size 24 to 18, still a plus-size girl, so I ordered jeans from @Forever21,” one person tweeted. “Opened the package, when I looked inside I see this Atkins bar. What are you trying to tell me Forever, 21, I’m fat, lose weight?” wrote the customer on social media.
I went from a size 24 to 18, still a plus size girl, so I ordered jeans from @Forever21 Opened the package, when I looked inside I see this Atkins bar. What are you trying to Tell me Forever 21, I’m FAT, LOSE WEIGHT? do you give these to NON-PLUS SIZE WOMEN as well? pic.twitter.com/ds8kUTs7T7
— MissGG(@MissGirlGames) July 19, 2019
Forever 21 really put a fucking diet bar in with my plus size clothing order…I fucking can’t.
— Kat Ravioli (@PinkMaggitKat) July 22, 2019
my mom ordered some clothes from @Forever21 ‘s plus size collection and they sent a Atkins diet bar along with the stuff she ordered pic.twitter.com/Lxi6XnuOB1
— jesse (@jessemarisaelao) July 19, 2019
However, another Twitter user claimed that she got the diet bars when she ordered a necklace as well and that it was not limited to the ‘plus-size orders’.
Following the outrage, the fashion brand came out with an apology. “The freebie items in question were included in all online orders, across all sizes and categories, for a limited time and have since been removed. This was an oversight on our part and we sincerely apologise for any offence this may have caused to our customers, as this was not our intention in any way,” Forever 21 said in a statement to Independent.
Similar Gaffes
Last year, clothing brand Revolve faced the heat after they had written on a sweatshirt “Being fat is not beautiful it’s an excuse.” The brand, however, apologised later and pulled back the product.
Earlier this year, designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee found himself in the middle of a controversy for his statement, “If you see a woman ‘overdressed’, it is most likely that she is wounded.” However, he apologised for his statement later.
