'People are stupid!' Walking Dead's Jeffrey Dean Morgan denies T-shirt inspired by his character's saying 'Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe' is racist

  • Primark pulled thousands of shirts with the slogan from 300 stores this week
  • Methodist minister complained the phrase which was once in an old racist rhyme
  • The star plays the zombie program's villain Negan who kills with a baseball
  • The UK retailer apologized for any offence caused

It is safe to say this actor has no problem with shirts bearing his image and his character's catch phrase.

The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan slammed a British retailer's decision to stop selling T-shirts which had 'Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe' on them after receiving a complaint about the shirt's being racist.

The 50-year-old actor - who plays bat-wielding villain Negan - took to Twitter on Wednesday to slam Primark's decision and the people who complained.

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'People are stupid': The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan slammed Primark's decision to pull T-shirt's with his charcater's catchprase and the people who complained, taking to Twitter on Wednesday 

'People are stupid': The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan slammed Primark's decision to pull T-shirt's with his charcater's catchprase and the people who complained, taking to Twitter on Wednesday 

Jeffery Dean sheared a story by The Warp which was titled Walking Dead Shirt Pulled From Stores After Complaint of Racism.

He responded by captioning the link: 'Holy crap people are stupid'.

While Jeffery Dean did not think the shirt was offensive, over the pond at least one person did and a mega company listened. 

This week Primark has pulled thousands of Walking Dead t-shirts from its shelves after a Methodist minister complained the phrase 'Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe' was racist.

Removed: Primark pulled thousands of Walking Dead t-shirts (pictured) from its shelves after a Methodist minister complained the phrase 'Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe' was racist

Removed: Primark pulled thousands of Walking Dead t-shirts (pictured) from its shelves after a Methodist minister complained the phrase 'Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe' was racist

Lucille's revenge: The t-shirts show the Jeffery Dean's charcater Negan holding a bloodied baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, which he uses to smash his victim’s heads
Lucille's revenge: The t-shirts show the Jeffery Dean's charcater Negan holding a bloodied baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, which he uses to smash his victim’s heads

Lucille's revenge: The t-shirts (left) show the Jeffery Dean's charcater Negan (right) holding a bloodied baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, which he uses to smash his victim’s heads

The t-shirts show Jeffery Dean as Negan holding a bloodied baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, which he uses to smash his victim’s heads. The rhyme 'Eeny, Meeny Miny, Moe' is written on them.

The character calls his bat Lucille and used it to kill long-standing favorites Glen and Abraham at the start of the most recent 7th season.

Before killing the pair, Negan - who leads a gang called The Saviors - decided on who to kill by pointing to his victims one-by-one with the baseball bat, while saying 'eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tiger by his toe'.

Not happy: Sheffield couple Ian and Gwen Lucraft spotted the t-shirt and complained that it was 'offensive'

Not happy: Sheffield couple Ian and Gwen Lucraft spotted the t-shirt and complained that it was 'offensive'

But after Sheffield couple Ian and Gwen Lucraft spotted the t-shirt in a Primark store last week, they complained to bosses that it was 'offensive'.

Methodist minister Mr Lucraft said the 'Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe' rhyme was racist as it was well known that the rhyme went on to say 'catch a n***** by his toe'.

He also said the bloodied bat was offensive, adding: 'We were shocked when we came face to face with a new t-shirt with a racially explicit graphic and text.

'It was fantastically offensive and I can only assume that no one in the process of ordering it knew what they were doing or were aware of its subliminal messages.'

He said that 'everyone knows' the 'Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe' phrase continues with 'catch a n***** by his toe', adding: 'The graphic has a large American baseball bat, wrapped round with barbed wire, and covered with blood.

'This image relates directly to the practice of assaulting black people in America.

'It is directly threatening of a racist assault, and if I were black and were faced by a wearer I would know just where I stood.'

Mr Lucraft fired off a letter to Primark chief executive Paul Marchant asking him to remove the t-shirt from sale - and bosses decided to do so following the complaint.

A spokesman for Primark confirmed the t-shirts are now being removed from all of its 300-odd stores, adding: 'The t-shirt in question is licensed merchandise for the U.S. television series, The Walking Dead, and the quote and image are taken directly from the show.

'Any offence caused by its design was wholly unintentional and Primark sincerely apologises for this. Primark is currently removing the product from sale.'

The 'Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe' counting rhyme has been around since the 18th century, with tiger replacing the word 'n*****' in more recent versions. 

The scene that started it all: Negan - who leads a gang called The Saviors - decides on who to kill by pointing to his victims one-by-one with the baseball bat, while saying 'eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tiger by his toe'. The rhyme used to say the N-word but was replaced by tiger in later years

The scene that started it all: Negan - who leads a gang called The Saviors - decides on who to kill by pointing to his victims one-by-one with the baseball bat, while saying 'eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tiger by his toe'. The rhyme used to say the N-word but was replaced by tiger in later years

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