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Urban Outfitters is under fire for this controversial 'Gypster' t-shirt

Critics say the company’s use of the term “gypsy” is offensive.

tumblr_nnsgc1QXUH1rdwe3xo1_540 prismaticmyths / Instagram prismaticmyths / Instagram / Instagram

THEY’VE DONE IT again.

Urban Outfitters has attracted criticism once again, this time for a t-shirt emblazoned with the word “Gypster” – a hybrid between “gypsy” and “hipster”.

It was spotted by Twitter use Jonathan Frandzone and has since been shared hundreds of times.

The t-shirt defines a “gypster” as being “wild at heart, being moved by love and music” and a “free spirited individual bitten by the wanderlust”.

In other words, usual hipster shite.

However, people have taken issue with the company co-opting the term “gypsy,” which is widely regarded as being an offensive term to describe members of the Roma community.

The Canadian Roma Alliance, an organisation that represents Roma diaspora in Canada, has described the shirts as “offensive” and implored the clothing company to treat the Roma community with “dignity and integrity”.

This is not the first time Urban Outfitters has come under fire. Last year, the company was forced to apologise for a blood-spattered sweatshirt that was a reference to a 1970s college shooting.

Urban Outfitters has yet to address this latest controversy.

Urban Outfitters apologises and removes blood-spattered sweatshirt from sale >

This guy had the perfect response when his wedding photo was turned into a meme >

Author
Amy O'Connor
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