"Why were they ever there being sold": Walmart KKK boots leave internet in disbelief 

A pair of men’s boots with a bright red “KKK” logo on it mysteriously appeared on Walmart’s website, which left the internet in disbelief. However, the matter was brought to the attention of the retail giant, who immediately removed the boots from their site on January 7.

The abbreviation KKK is frequently used by the Klu Klux Klan, a white supremacist hate group. The retailer was alerted about the shoe being displayed on its website by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and was respectfully asked to remove it from the page.

(Image via Twitter/@alricmcd)

Walmart pulled the boots off its website and wrote:

“The item is inconsistent with our values.”

After the news spread, people were in shock and many blamed the retail company for promoting bigotry. One user, @TweetyMontgome1 wrote on Twitter:

“The number one question is why were they ever there being sold to be removed"

(Image via Twitter/@TweetyMontgome1)

The boots that were being sold for about $50 came with an unusually long name - Harsuny Men’s Tactical Military Hiking Ankle Boot Outdoor Trekking Shoes. They were available in two colors - black and tan. Both of the variations had the “KKK” logo in red sitting on the tongue of the boots, above the shoelaces.

It is still not clear if Harsuny is the name of the company that was selling the boots or if they had a hidden racist agenda.

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How did the Harsuny Men's Trekking boots make it to Walmart's website?

Walmart is among the most popular retailers that let third-party companies sell their goods and products on their e-commerce sites. In exchange, these retail marketplaces keep a certain percentage of the profit.

However, the pair of boots with an apparently racist acronym attached to it caused the retailer to face controversy.

A spokesperson for Walmart said:

"We have a process in place designed to prevent third-party sellers from offering inappropriate items on our platform. Still, at times, inappropriate items make their way onto our platform."

For some reason, the system failed to detect the KKK-emblazoned boots as an offensive item before approving it to appear on the website.

The spokesperson informed:

"We are reviewing how this happened and will apply what we learn to further improve our rules and processes to prevent the sale of inappropriate merchandise.”

Referring to the boots, the spokesperson told The Post that the item was listed by a third-party seller who isn’t among the usual companies that sell their merchandise on Walmart’s website. They removed the item because it didn’t match their values and violated the retail giant’s prohibited product policy.

A spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights and advocacy group, shared that they received a tip via an email about the boots being sold on the retailer’s website. The organization then contacted Walmart’s corporate offices with a respectful and polite request for the removal of the shoes.

CAIR later thanked Walmart for dropping the online listing for the “KKK” boots after they brought the matter to their attention.

Individuals on Twitter reacted to the incident and accused the retailer of having a history of being involved in such racial controversy. One user, @FRDougFromUpla1 wrote on Twitter:

"It is an Italian company. Do manufacturers in Italy not know about the history of the DemocRAT party? How could any company be that stupid?"

Another person believed that Walmart knew what they were doing; that they were trying to reach out to bigots by promoting these boots. The user asked others to boycott the retailer.

Walmart's spokesperson assured customers that concerned authorities were looking into how the controversial product made it to the chain's website.