April 25, 2018
Teespring Sells, Then Removes, Apparel Glorifying Dylann Roof
Teespring was in hot water again this week after the web-based platform for user-designed custom apparel was found to be selling T-shirts and hoodies that glorified Dylann Roof, a white supremacist who shot and killed nine people at a church in Charleston, SC, in June 2015.
Teespring has previously received widespread criticism for selling racist apparel, including T-shirts featuring swastikas and pro-Nazi graphics and messages. Teespring has also made negative headlines for selling shirts that encouraged the lynching of journalists.
This time around, Teespring was selling a T-Shirt that read, “Keep Calm and Roof On.” Above the message, the shirt featured Roof’s distinctive “bowl” haircut. A product description read, “Bowl everyone over with your impeccable style with this saintly yet subtle design that will have them all begging to be taken to church!” Teespring said it sold 13 of the shirts, which apparently went on sale earlier this month.
Teespring has since removed this T-shirt glorifying Dylann Roof from its website.
In addition to the T-shirt, Teespring had the below hoodies for sale. Teespring told Newsweek that no one bought the hoodies.
Teespring has removed these hoodies depicting mass murderer Dylann Roof from its website.
A Teespring spokesperson told Newsweek that its system features a filter that prevents offensive messaging from making its way onto the site. Clearly, however, the filter failed with the apparel related to Roof. The spokesperson emphasized that Teespring removed the shirts and hoodies after being alerted about them.
Still, the removal didn’t occur before Teespring received public backlash.
@teespring This is disgusting! Why are you selling these 3 shirts & anything else related to him? Please stop selling them immediately! #DoTheRightThing https://t.co/dB2EhhWMzJ
— Carol Jannello (@CarolJannello) April 24, 2018
Teespring does not tolerate any glorification of harm or hate towards others. We are actively removing these campaigns and banning the sellers who launched them. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or hurt this may have caused.
— Teespring (@teespring) April 24, 2018
Through its platform, Teespring enables individuals to create custom-branded products. Teespring fulfills the orders.
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