South African retailer caught in racist mug row
Retail chain Pick n Pay has apologised and removed stocks of a mug
from a franchise outlet after being accused of being racist.
A photo posted by a user showing mugs that are for ‘gardeners’ and ‘maids’ triggered outrage among observers.
A Twitter user posted an image of the mug and the photo soon went viral.
People expressed outrage saying the mugs were racist and classist as South Africa had a history where many domestic workers were abused and discriminated against by their employers.
Pick n Pay has since apologised for the debacle and removed the offending mugs from its shelves.
hi @PicknPay these mugs were on the shelf at your obs store. finding them hella problematic. pic.twitter.com/GuqEEIl6Cb
— toni toni ton'z (@toni_verna) October 30, 2018
The outlet has also explained that these cups are not stocked nationwide, but were only available in one franchise outlet.
We can confirm that these mugs have been removed from the store, and are not stocked in any other Pick n Pay stores. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention.
— Pick n Pay (@PicknPay) October 30, 2018