Walmart removes t-shirt from store after customers spot rude word hidden on it

Walmart has removed a pro-recycling t-shirt after eagle-eyed shoppers spotted that the design on the front inadvertently spelt out a very rude word.

The green t-shirt, which was on sale in Canadian Walmart stores and cost $5, was emblazoned with a seemingly thoughtful message that read: "Recycle, Reuse. Renew. Rethink.”

The design of the tee has RE capitalised and then ‘cycle’, ‘use’, ‘new’ and ‘think’ stacked on top of each other.

So what’s wrong with that, right?

Well, one Twitter user happened to notice that if you read the first letter of each of the stacked words - starting with the C for cycle and ending with the T for think, it gave an altogether different message. C**T. Oh. Probably not something you’d want to wear out and about then, eh?

Posting a shot of the t-shirt on Twitter, the woman joked: “I need this shirt before Walmart realises what they have done. Find the hidden word.”

Once you see it, it’s impossible to unsee, isn’t it?

Twitter

That post soon went viral, with almost 20,000 likes and more than a thousand comments from shocked shoppers who couldn’t quite believe the item had made its way into stores without someone noticing the offensive word.

One person wrote: “The C word on full display.”

Another said: “I need this so that I can get a marker and circle the hidden word like a word search.”

While a third commented: “So THIS is why C U Next Tuesday was trending.”

Someone else questioned: “What's the over/under that whoever designed that shirt knew exactly what they were doing?”

“Wow, as someone that prints clothing for a living, I’m amazed this made it to the shop floor,” said one person. “They had to know surely?!”

Robert K. Chin - Storefronts / Alamy Stock Photo

While others suggested that the ‘someone will get fired’ over the design.

The accidentally super offensive t-shirt was eventually brought to the attention of Walmart, with the company later announcing it had removed the item from its stores.

In a statement to Fox, a spokesperson said: "The shirt was only sold at Walmart Canada locations and has been removed from stores.”

Despite being pulled from shelves at Walmart, a quick Google search reveals that plenty of online retailers are cashing in on the NSFW design with numerous options available - but all of which cost a fair bit more than the original five dollars.

Topics: Viral, Walmart, Fashion, Twitter

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at UNILAD who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats.