Walmart pulls clothing from its website after shoppers claimed it depicted Nazi salute

Walmart has pulled clothing from its website after facing severe criticism over the apparel’s graphic, which some horrified shoppers claimed depicted a Nazi salute.

The shirt and hoodie, which came in both gray and black, were emblazoned with the words ‘Paper Beats Rock’ in reference to the children’s game ‘rock, paper, scissors.’

The accompanying graphic featured a flat palm to represent ‘paper’ that looked similar to a fascist salute. It was hovering over an image of a raised fist, showing ‘rock.’

Both items of clothing have since been removed from the Walmart website.

In a statement issued to The Daily Mail, a spokesperson said the company has ‘zero tolerance’ for any offensive products that appear on its website and said it was sold by a third party.

‘The items in question were listed by a third-party seller and have been removed from our site for violating our prohibited products policy,’ the statement read.

‘When issues like this are identified, we act immediately to remove them and strengthen our systems to prevent a recurrence. The trust of our customers and the integrity of our platform remain paramount.’

The prohibited products policy, as per the Walmart website, states that banned items include anything that promotes ‘intolerance, hate, humiliation or the mistreatment of others due to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, body image or similar characteristics.’

Walmart have pulled the controversial ‘Paper Beats Rock’ shirts from their website after facing criticism that the graphics appeared to show a Nazi salute

Appalled shoppers took to social media to share their thoughts about the controversial graphic.

‘I was rolling my eyes thinking how could rock paper scissors be racist, then saw the shirt, wow, who in their right mind approved that design,’ one user commented.

‘Oh I did not expect it to be so blatantly explicit that’s wild,’ another shocked user wrote. 

A third person commented: ‘My first thought was white power and boy is this shirt problematic in so many ways.’ 

While many were horrified over the shirt and hoodie, others defended the design and retail giant, claiming it wasn’t intended to be harmful.

‘I think it’s a pretty funny shirt. Y’all just easily over-offended,’ one shopper shot back.

‘Omg… everything is offensive nowadays. Get over it,’ said another. ‘People suck there is nothing you can do to change it. Calling them out on it isn’t going to change anything.’

Someone else was hoping to purchase the item, commenting: ‘I would buy it, looks funny enough to wear,’ while another scathingly slammed the ‘woke’ responses, writing: ‘That’s a kid’s game you triggered flake.’

The graphic was sold on a hoodie and a t-shirt. Both items of clothing have since been removed from the Walmart website

Both items of clothing have since been removed from the Walmart website, with a spokesperson saying the company has ‘zero tolerance’ for any offensive product

In January, Elon Musk came under fire for making a similar gesture while addressing a crowd of MAGA fans during a celebration of President Donald Trump’s inauguration

The Daily Mail has contacted Walmart for comment. 

The right arm extended forward with a raised flat palm salute is associated with Nazi Germany and 20th-century fascism and is often referred to as the Roman salute or the fascist salute. 

In January, Elon Musk came under fire for making a similar gesture while addressing a crowd of MAGA fans during a celebration of President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The Tesla billionaire thumped his right hand over his heart with his fingers spread wide, then extended his right arm out at an upward angle, palm down and fingers together. Then he turned and made the same hand gesture to the crowd behind him.

The gestures were quickly scrutinized online, prompting critics to allege his actions were an overt reference to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. 

It’s not the first time Walmart have faced controversy over a design featured on their clothing.

In 2023, a pro-recycling T-shirt was removed from Walmart after a customer spotted a hidden swear word in the slogan.

The green tee ad the capital letters ‘RE’ written on the left and the words ‘cycle,’ ‘use,’ ‘new,’ and ‘think’ stacked on the right. 

‘The environmentally-friendly message seemed innocent enough — until online shoppers realized the first letters of each word inadvertently spell out ‘c**t.’