Five tasteless Halloween costumes: from Oscar Pistorius to Cecil the Lion
Blade Runner outfit with fake gun and silver boot covers causes outrage
An Oscar Pistorius Halloween costume has been branded “highly offensive” by a charity that supports families of murder victims.
The fancy dress outfit includes a running vest with the words “Blade Gunner 2012” and shorts, sunglasses, a fake gun, and black and silver boot covers depicting racing blades.
The sprinting outfit is in green and yellow, the colours worn by Pistorius when he represented South Africa at the 2012 Olympics, months before he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February 2013.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Luton-based website Jokers' Masquerade has listed the “Adult Blade Runner Gunner Stag Costume” in its Halloween section.
“Cause lots of controversy at your next party with our Adult Blade Runner Gunner Stag Costume. This eye catching, head turning costume idea is ideal for any event, whether it be Halloween or just a shindig at a friends,” it says.
“The costume includes black and silver boot covers that come up to just under the knee, giving the impression that you have metal running blades instead of legs, just like that infamous Paralympic runner!”
Rose Dixon, chief executive of Support After Murder and Manslaughter, told The Sun: “This is incredibly insensitive and highly offensive, especially to bereaved families.”
However, it is by no means the first Halloween costume to face criticism…
Anne Frank
Online retailer HalloweenCostumes.com faced a backlash last year for selling an Anne Frank costume on its site. The dressing-up outfit featured a green beret, blue dress and brown satchel, while the description said: “We can always learn from the struggles of history! Now, your child can play the role of a World War II hero.”
The costume sparked a furious response on Twitter, with many people accusing the retailer of trivialising the memory of Frank, who spent two years in hiding with her family before they were found and sent to Auschwitz. The company said the costume was never meant to cause offence but removed it from sale.
Gagged Kim Kardashian
After Kim Kardashian West was tied up and robbed by five men in Paris in 2016, Costumeish.com put the “Parisian Heist Robbery Victim Kit” on sale for $69.99 (£53). It made no mention of Kardashian, but included a “white short sexy robe”, long black wig, sunglasses, gag, rope and “$4m” ring.
After much criticism, the company announced on Twitter: “Due to the extensive out-lash we have decided to remove the ‘Parisian Heist’ costume from our website. We are sorry if it offended anyone.”
Cecil the Lion
Costumeish.com has a history of pushing the limits of taste. In 2015, US dentist Walter Palmer caused global outrage by killing Cecil the lion during a hunt in Zimbabwe. Within weeks, the costume site launched a dentist outfit covered in blood spatters, which came with a severed lion head as a prop.
Despite fury from animal lovers, the costume company’s founder, Jonathon Weeks, refused to apologise, saying: “Maybe our money has Cecil lion’s blood on it. I’m not here to offend anybody, I’m just here to keep things questionable. We’re just in the very beginning of this Halloween season. There’s more to come.”
Call Me Caitlyn
Caitlyn Jenner’s appearance on the front cover of Vanity Fair in 2015 inspired several retailers to put Call Me Caitlyn costumes on sale. One white corset and wig combo was promoted as a unisex outfit and modelled by a man with stubble.
The sellers claimed they were celebrating the star, and Jenner said she wasn’t offended. However, her supporters were not amused, arguing that trans people were being treated as a joke. One petition to have the outfits withdrawn from sale said that “to make a costume out of a marginalised identity reduces that person and community to a stereotype for privileged people to abuse”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Are 'judge shopping' rules a blow to Republicans?
Today's Big Question How the abortion pill case got to the Supreme Court
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Climate change is driving Indian women to choose sterilization
under the radar Faced with losing their jobs, they are making a life-altering decision
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
'A great culture will be lost if the EV brigade gets its way'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published