“The Walking Dead” star Jeffrey Dean Morgan had a short and sweet response to the growing uproar surrounding a T-shirt promoting the AMC series in which he stars.
The shirt in question bore the image of a baseball bat and the message “Eeny Meeny Miny Moe” — a reference to a scene from the AMC zombie drama in which Negan (Morgan) is deciding who in the protagonist group to kill.
In the scene, Negan continues the phrase with, “Catch a tiger by his toe” — though, historically in the U.K. the rhyme has employed the N-word rather than the word “tiger.”
The historical use caused shopper Ian Lucraft to complain after spotting the shirt at a branch of the U.K.’s Primark retail chain.
“We were shocked when we came face to face with a new T-shirt with a racially explicit graphic and text,” Lucraft told the Warwick Courier. “It was fantastically offensive and I can only assume that no one in the process of ordering it knew what they were doing or were aware of its subliminal messages.”
In a statement to TheWrap, a Primark spokesperson offered an apology for the shirt, saying that any offense that the shirt caused was “wholly unintentional.”
“The T-shirt in question is licensed merchandise for the U.S. television series, ‘The Walking Dead,’ and the quote and image are taken directly from the show,” the spokesperson said. “Any offense caused by its design was wholly unintentional and Primark sincerely apologizes for this. Primark has pulled the product from sale.”
Holy crap people are stupid. 'Walking Dead’ Shirt Pulled From Stores After Complaint of Racism https://t.co/cpeIqcxTwJ
Back to Morgan’s tweet: It’s not entirely clear who the actor is calling “stupid” — whether it’s the complainer, the retailer, all of the people paying attention to the T-shirt hullabaloo, or even all of the above.
Tell us what you think in the comments below or tweet @TheWrap.
'Walking Dead' Season 7 Highlights So Far, From Negan's Victim to the Road to War (Photos)
Time to Catch Up
The second half of "The Walking Dead" Season 7 is upon us! But before you dive back into the zombie-filled world, catch up on key moments from each episode so far
Gene Page/AMC
Negan's Victim(s) Revealed
The now infamous Season 6 finale cliffhanger left fans angry as hell, but that didn't stop them from tearing up with the death of not only Abraham (Michael Cudlitz), but also Glenn (Steven Yeun) at Negan's hands.
Gene Page/AMC
Bow Down to the King
Plenty of characters have come and gone on the series, but few made the same kind of first impression as King Ezekiel (Khary Payton), the tiger-toting, flowery language-loving ruler of The Kingdom
Gene Page/AMC
Daryl's on "Easy Street"
Daryl (Norman Reedus) spent the entire first half of the season a prisoner of the Saviors, who continually tortured him (and fans) with a loop of the song "Easy Street"
Negan Comes Knocking
Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) made his presence felt in a big way when he made his first trip to Alexandria. He and his men ransacked the entire community and callously took all the mattresses, only to burn them
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Maggie Climbs the Hill
Maggie (Lauren Cohan) suffered the loss of her husband and nearly her unborn child. But that didn't stop her from becoming the de facto new leader of Hilltop this season
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Tara's Day at the Beach
Tara (Alanna Masterson) avoided most of the serious Savior drama, but still had problems to face. Tara was taken captive by the women of Oceanside and nearly killed, but a friend she made inside the group saved her life
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Carl Drops the Ball
Carl (Chandler Riggs) decided to make killing Negan his top priority, only to bungle the job at the moment of truth. Negan then kept Carl at his side for the day, showing him all the wonders/terrors of living with the Saviors
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Reunited and It Feels So Good
Rick (Andrew Lincoln) finally found the courage to fight the Saviors, which just happened to coincide with Daryl escaping the Saviors. The two friends reconnected in the Hug Seen Round the World
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Rick and friends encounter the Scavengers
We meet this previously unknown faction which, delightfully, forces Rick to fight a walker dressed in spiky gladiator armor to prove he's worth a damn.
Daryl and Carol reunite
Daryl follows Ezekiel to Carol's countryside estate, and the pair have a tearful reunion in which Daryl lies to her about how the encounter with Negan went in the season premiere.
Negan throws Dr. Carson into the furnace, Dwight starts his rebellion
Dwight frames Dr. Carson for helping Sherry escape, and Negan murders him publicly for it. With Sherry gone, Dwight is finally free to begin his turn against the Saviors.
Eugene assimilates into the Saviors
Eugene, believing that he'll be safer among the Saviors than anywhere else, gets over his fear of Negan and, as all the members of the Saviors do, becomes Negan. He proves his loyalty by not providing Negan's wives with poison pills they'd hoped to assassinate season 7's big bad with.
Rick and Michonne go on a road trip
Richonne takes a chill jaunt around the countryside in search of guns, and Rick treats it like he's on vacation. They get into a bit of a hairy scrape with walkers near the end, but it was totally worth it.
Richard digs his own grave (literally), and Morgan puts him in it (also literally)
Richard hopes to sacrifice himself to start a war between the Kingdom and the Saviors, but all he really accomplishes is getting the teenager Benjamin killed and reigniting Morgan's bloodlust.
Sasha and Rosita go after Negan
Their shared love of Abraham leads this unlikely pair to go out on their own to try to take out Negan. But seeing Eugene among the Saviors derails the whole endeavor. Short version: Sasha ends up captured and Rosita brings home a defector.
Maggie accidentally humiliates Gregory, who decides to do something bad
It turns out Gregory is a virgin when it comes to murdering walkers, a fact that almost gets him killed when he hangs out with Maggie outside the Hilltop walls. Embarrassed that Maggie had to save him and realizing the impending uprising against the Saviors puts him in jeopardy, Gregory hatches a plan.
Rick's group steals all the guns from Oceanside
Tara finally tells Rick about the all-women colony of Oceanside that saved her earlier in the season. They repay Oceanside's generosity by invading the town and stealing all their weapons to use in the war against the Saviors. Oceanside's lead, Natania, opts not to keep her people out of the fight.
Dwight defects
Fed up with the years of abuse, Dwight finally betrays the Saviors just as their enemies are preparing to go to war.
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(Spoiler Alert) Get caught up on all the zombified action before the second half of the season begins Feb. 12
Time to Catch Up
The second half of "The Walking Dead" Season 7 is upon us! But before you dive back into the zombie-filled world, catch up on key moments from each episode so far
Gene Page/AMC
Gene Page/AMC
