Retail giant Walmart was left apologizing to actor Paul Walker, his family, his friends, and his fans for what many called an “insensitive” joke invoking the deceased actor’s driving.
In a tweet noting that Walmart is selling Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls with strawberry icing, Twitter user Lauren Miles tweeted out a .gif of a car racing scene from one of the actor’s movies.
*me racin to the nearest Wally World* pic.twitter.com/JYzQaCzCQ0
— LSM (@iamlaurenmiles) January 14, 2020
To that tweet, the official Walmart account replied, “Hey Paul Walker. Click it, or ticket.” Here’s a screenshot of the tweet that Walmart has since deleted.
But some fans of Walker, who’s perhaps best known for his stellar starring role in the first seven Fast and Furious films, were incensed at the tweet because the actor died in 2013 at only 40 years of age in an auto accident.
Not long after backlash online started ringing in. Walmart deleted the tweet.
In a statement, Walmart said, “We apologize to Paul Walker’s family, friends and fans. The tweet was posted in poor judgement and has been removed.”
The deleted tweet was apparently a riff on a line used in the movie Workaholics, where actor Adam DeVine used the “click it, or ticket” line.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.