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Walgreens Jettisons Chia Obama
Afro-sporting pottery planter 'didn't fit our corporate image'
By Kevin Spak
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Posted Apr 8, 09 10:43 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Walgreens has pulled Chia Obama from its shelves, saying the Afro-growing pottery novelty “didn’t fit our corporate image,” the Chicago Tribune reports. “We didn’t want to be subject to any misinterpretation over the product,” said a spokesman, who said he was misquoted yesterday as saying that customers had complained that the bust was racist. “The word I used was ‘offensive.’”
Joseph Enterprises, the company behind the Chia brand, was flabbergasted by the move. “It’s hope, courage, and pro-American,” protested president Joe Pedott. “If someone calls me a racist, I get livid. I’m a Republican and voted for Obama.” He also noted that sales shot up 50% in the one week Walgreens carried the bust. He says he’ll keep selling it online, and he’s talking to Walgreens’ “friendly competitors.”