Walmart received major flak for an insensitive tweet related to the late Paul Walker, the Fast and the Furious actor who was tragically killed in a car accident in November 2013.
The tweet was made in response to an eager customer wanting to get their hands on the retail giant's recently announced offering of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with pink strawberry-and-cream icing.
Twitter user @iamlaurenmiles tweeted her enthusiasm for the product with a GIF depicting a car weaving recklessly between cars on a busy highway and captioned it with:
"*me racin to the nearest Wally World*"
Whoever is in charge of handling the retail corporation's social media accounts seized an opportunity to advance their marketing momentum for the cinnamon rolls and responded to the customer's tweet by invoking the late actor.
"Hey, Paul Walker, Click it, or ticket."
According to Page Six, "Click it, or ticket" is a slogan used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as part of a safety campaign to remind drivers to buckle up.
The phrase was also apparently used in a 2011 episode of the Comedy Central show Workaholics and fans of the show pointed out the reference.
However, fans of Walker did not appreciate the retail corporation's joke.
On November 30, 2013, Walker was sitting in the passenger seat in a vehicle driven by his friend professional race car driver Roger Rodas when they struck a light pole in Santa Clarita, California.
Both were killed instantly in the single-car collision. Police reported speed being a factor.
Walmart most likely referenced Workaholics use of the same line in the now-deleted tweet, and some defended the corporation for their blunder.
But people were still angry at Walmart.
After the social media backlash, Walmart apologized for the tweet and said it was written with "poor judgement."
There were mixed responses.
Walmart's statement read:
"We apologize to Paul Walker's family, friends and fans."
"The tweet was posted in poor judgment and has been removed."
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