Walmart issued an apology after employees refused to bake a “Blue Lives Matter” cake, calling it racist.
Georgia Walmart employees told Jordan Harkins, who ordered the cake, they could not bake it because the message could be interpreted as racist, reports Cleveland 19.
Walmart has since apologized for the incident, saying their top priority is the customer.
“Our goal is to always take care of customers. But, sometimes we misstep. We have addressed this issue with everyone involved and are taking steps to make sure no other customers have this kind of experience in our stores,” the Walmart Corporate Communications Department said in a statement.
At first, Harkins asked for a black and white American flag with a blue stripe, but was refused by the bakery employees. They told her that “the design could be perceived as racist.”
She then asked for a dark cake with a blue strip in the middle and the message “Blue Lives Matter” written on it. Bakery employees again refused to bake the cake.
“I didn’t know how to react, because I didn’t think that was the response I would have gotten. Just insulted, for the most part, because that’s my family,” Harkins said.
The cake was intended for a retirement party thrown for Harkin’s father, a police officer.
“(Police) protect us, and they’re serving, and giving their lives everyday for us. So, I think the support needs to come from everyone, including WalMart, where everyone shops all the time,” Harkins said.
Walmart REFUSES to make BLUE LIVES MATTER cake for retiring police officer, says it RACIST – The Right Scoophttps://t.co/XANqHFhlpq
— All American Girl (@AIIAmericanGirI) September 26, 2016
After a social media post went viral, the Walmart manager called Harkins to apologize and offered to make the cake for her.
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