Black Milk Clothing apologizes for Facebook blowup

Sunday was May 4. For one corner of social media, that means it’s “Star Wars” Day, because “May the fourth” sounds like “May the force,” as in “May the force be with you,” an oft-repeated line from the movies.

For brands that market to fans of science fiction and similar genres, it’s a big opportunity to drum up excitement and sales. Black Milk Clothing, an Australian company that sells apparel—including a line of “Star Wars” clothes—online, tried to do that by posting this image to its Facebook page:

Fans immediately reacted with anger, saying the image is misogynistic, an act of body shaming, and violates Black Milk’s own rule that commenters shouldn’t “make critical comments on other women’s bodies.”

Black Milk didn’t see it that way. Its social media team wrote a number of defensive posts saying the original post wasn’t shaming anyone and that the company would not apologize. The team said those upset by the post constituted “a small minority.” BuzzFeed has a collection of screenshots here.