Walmart Pulls Osama Bin Laden Costume After Complaints From Sikh Community

Walmart and other retailers pulled an Osama Bin Laden costume after receiving complaints from the Sikh community.

The Sikh Coalition wrote letters and made phone calls to US retailers, including Amazon, Sears, and Rite Aid, asking for the costume to be removed. The coalition said the costume, which includes a white turban and full beard, perpetuates “negative stereotypes about turbans and beards that have led to violence and discrimination against Sikhs and other minorities.”

Rajdeep Singh, director of law and policy at the Sikh Coalition, told The Huffington Post,“If you lost a loved one during the 9/11 attacks or during our nation’s war against Al Qaeda, or if someone attacked your father in a hate crime because he wears a turban, I doubt this costume would make you comfortable.” In his letter to Amazon, Singh wrote that the man in the picture is wearing a “military-style camouflage jacket, similar to those worn by Osama bin Laden.”

A Walmart spokesperson told The Huffington Post in an email, “We disabled this item for purchase and are in the process of immediately removing it from our site. We sincerely apologize to any customers who may have been offended by this costume.” The spokesperson also added that the costume was not available in Walmart stores.

This is the second costume Walmart has been forced to remove recently because of backlash. The -based retailer recently pulled its “naughty leopard” toddler costume from shelves amidst criticism of the suggestive name. The costume was also removed from Walmart’s website, where it was listed as “leopard child Halloween costume.”

Company spokeswoman Danit Marquardt said, “We are in the process of pulling the product off our shelves and we apologize to any customers that may have been offended by the name.”

Feministing noted that the costume, which features a black and purple leopard print dress with lace and rubies, was tame, but that it was “deliberate marketing and less some necessity of design that’s leading to this completely inappropriate sexualization of young girls.”