Groupon apologized Wednesday after people noticed that the use of a racial slur in the color descriptions on its website.
According to screenshots posted to Twitter and Instagram, a pair of Women’s Fringed Suede Moccasin Boots was available in Apricot, Black, Brown, and [N-word]-Brown.
“You have some explaining to do. New color choice selected by a racist employee?” demanded Twitter user Dana Trimboli, who posted a screenshot.
She used the hashtag “#ShutdownGroupon.”
Groupon noted that the description was the work of a third-party vendor, but nevertheless apologized Wednesday.
“We are appalled that this language was displayed on our site,” Vice President of Global Communications Bill Roberts told Cosmopolitan. “This product description was provided by a third-party seller via our self-service platform. Regardless, this is completely unacceptable and violates our policies — to say nothing of our values.”
That third-party seller was barred from the Groupon site as a result, Mr. Roberts said.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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