Apparel company Lululemon has fired an employee over a shirt that displayed racist remarks and depictions towards Asians.
TMZ reports that Lululemon has dropped one of its art directors for promoting a “Bat Fried Rice” shirt that many called racist, claiming it to be part of anti-Asian propaganda amid the coronavirus pandemic. The drama surrounding the company all started when Trevor Fleming, an employee of the brand, shared a link to the shirt’s designer Jess Sluder.
Sluder, a California artist, designed the shirt with a red pencil drawing of a Chinese takeout box, adding bat wings on the back. On the takeout box and down the sleeves of the garment, the shirt read, “No Thank You.” According to TMZ, the artist was selling the shirts for $60; in a now-deleted post, she thanked her buyers and wrote, “Where did COVID-19 come from? Nothing is certain, but we know a bat was involved.”
The origin of COVID-19 goes back to China, and many believe the virus came from bats. A new report from the World Health Organization supports that belief. According to Fox News, WHO said the virus originated in bats, not from a lab. “All available evidence suggests the virus has an animal origin and is not manipulated or constructed virus in a lab or somewhere else,” WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib.
Since learning that the diseases started in China, many have taken it upon themselves to express xenophobia and prejudice towards the Asian community. Lululemon responded to the backlash it received over the shirt, calling the design discriminatory.” We acted immediately, and the person involved is no longer an employee of Lululemon,” said the brand, adding that the design is not theirs, and the company opposes “any discriminatory behaviors.”
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