Nearly 600 people sign petition calling for return of "racist" Walking Dead t-shirt to Primark in one day

Nearly 600 people have signed a petition calling for the return of a Walking Dead t-shirt branded "racist" by a Sheffield Methodist minister in just one day.
The t-shirt which Mr Lucraft (right) says is racist and Walking Dead character Negan, who inspired the garment.The t-shirt which Mr Lucraft (right) says is racist and Walking Dead character Negan, who inspired the garment.
The t-shirt which Mr Lucraft (right) says is racist and Walking Dead character Negan, who inspired the garment.

Primark pulled the controversial "eeny meeny miny moe" garment from shelves after outraged shopper Ian Lucraft wrote to the clothing giant's chief executive calling for it to be pulled saying it was "fantastically offensive."

But an angry backlash against Mr Lucraft has now seen more than 550 people sign a petition calling for the t-shirt - which also features a blood drenched, barbed wire wrapped baseball bat to be put back on sale.

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In a single day, dozens of people have backed Jasmine Williams' petition on the change.org website

She said that Mr Lucraft should "not be taken seriously" and that the shop "should not give in to white people claiming racist remarks when they are not."

She added: "The original Eenie Meenie Miny Moe song had the lyrics changed to "tiger" over 40 years ago and only those older than this know the original which he falsely claims "everyone knows how it ends."

Earlier this week, Mr Lucraft got the high street clothing store to remove the t-shirt and admitted he was "very pleased" with the chain's decision.

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He wrote to the firm's Chief Executive Paul Marchant calling for the shirt, which also features a blood drenched baseball bat to be dropped, saying the origin of the slogan had "racist" origins and encouraged violence against black people.

He said: "The slogan is “Eeeny meenie miny moe…..” It stops there, but of course we all know what the original said: “catch a n***** by his toe."

In the scene, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) bludgeons a character to death using a barbed-wire rapped baseball bat while uttering the phrase. However, in the clip, he uses the word "tiger" rather than the N-word.